
Class v£cv!!3 2,£ii5^ 
Book_l7^^ 



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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



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iDililSTRiTIOi 



including the 



Organization and Supervision 
of Schools 



by 

John T. Prince, Ph. D. 

Author of Courses of Studies and Methods of Teaching ; Methods 
of Instruction and Organization of the Schools of Germany, etc. 




SYRACUSE, N. Y. 

C. W. BARDEEN, Publisher 



Copyright, 1906, by C. W. Bardeen 



RESS? 
Ived j 



LIBRARY cf CONGRESS 
Twe Copies Received 
JAN 2 1907 

C»pyrl^ht Entry 
CLASS ^ XXc, No 

/ 6 V? OS 

COPY B. 






PREFACE 

American conditions do not seem to favor an easy, 
simple and effective administration of schools. Among 
the adverse conditions existing in many places are: (1) 
an overpowering sentiment in favor of local self- 
government and a strong opposition to centralization of 
any kind; (2) a non-recognition by the people of the need 
of professional knowledge and skill in carrying on the 
schools; (3) a tendency to adopt political methods in 
the election of school officials as well as in matters 
of school control; (4) the comparatively short terms of 
administrative offices and the frequent changes of 
membership in them; (5) the large extent of sparsely 
inhabited regions and the consequent difficulties of 
school attendance and classification; and (6) the dif- 
ference of financial ability in the various sections of a 
State and the variety of needs to be met. Such condi- 
tions as these are likely to foster mistakes of adminis- 
tration which can be avoided only by the greatest care 
and effort. 

Among the mistakes of school administration act- 
ually existing in this country may be mentioned first 
the tendency of over organization in which the atten- 
tion of the workers is turned away from the product to 
the machinery which turns it out. Again there is the 
other extreme of a lack of organization by which the 
time and effort of school officials are wasted. But 
more frequently perhaps than all else is the loose or- 
ganization by which the duties of school officials over- 
lap one another, frequently resulting in confusion and 
friction of a serious kind. 

In matters of school supervision also there is the 
same tendency to extremes of practice which exists in 



vi Preface 

school organization — the over-supervision on the one 
hand which takes away the original freedom and orig- 
inality of the teachers, and the absence of supervision 
on the other which gives an opportunity for teachers to 
carry out in questionable ways the lowest ends of edu- 
cation and which gives no encouragement or support 
to teachers who are striving to attain the highest ends. 

It is difficulties like these which this book is intend- 
ed to meet. It is not expected that theories of admin- 
istration can be applied everywhere exactly as they are 
here given; but it is hoped that their presentation 
will be of substantial assistance to members of 
School Boards, Superintendents and Principals of 
schools, as well as to professional students of educa- 
tion in Colleges and Normal Schools. 

It should be said that many of the recommeded 
plans and outlines are simply a transcript of existing 
practices. Full credit, however , could not be given in 
all cases because of the changes in them which were 
thought desirable to make and because of the fact that 
in a few instances the authorship was unknown. 



CO ]S^ TENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I The Nature, and Source of School Organi- 
zation 1 

II Legislative Provisions respecting the Organ- 
ization of Schools 6 

III State Administration of Schools 21 

IV City and Town Administration of Schools.. 32 
V District and County Administration of 

Schools 52 

VI The Superintendent as Organizer 59 — - 

VII The Superintendent as Supervisor 150.___^ 

VIII The Superintendent and Community Inter- 
ests 181_. 

IX The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 187 

X The Teacher as Organizer 202 

XI Schools for Defectives and Delinquents 220 ^ 

XII Records and Reports 226 

APPENDIXES 

A The Evolution of School Supervision 247 

B The Supervision of Rural Schools 265 

C Consolidation of Rural Schools 272 

D School Revenues and their Distribution 283 

E Special Schools and Classes , 290 

E School Hygiene 298 t. 

G General Plan of Studies for Elementary 

Schools 361 

H Plans of Studies for High Schools 404 



School Organization and Supervision 



CHAPTER I 

THE NATURE AND SOURCE OF SCHOOL ORGANI- 
ZATION 

The organs comprising a system of educa- 
tion are the essential means or instruments by 
which the work of education is done — the or- The nature 
2:anization becomins: more and more complex as ^^] necessity 

. • 1 1 01 orgamza- 

the system extends m function or in the number tio^ 
of pupils reached. A school of one pupil with 
one subject of instruction must have its organi- 
zation no less than a system of many schools 
with a large number of subjects. The place 
and means of instruction must be provided even 
though they be only Garfield's well-known log 
with a teacher at one end of it. The reach 
from such an organization to the organization 
needed for a city system is very great, and yet 
in these extremes of conditions and in all the in- 
termediate points, a choice of means must be ' 
made; and it will be found that that organiza- 
tion is most effective in which each part or The most 
organ is best suited to perform its particular ^^^f^^^f ^^'• 
function with reference to all other functions 
and the result to be reached. 

Before considering the functions of these 

organs or what the organs should be, it may be 

1 



2 



School Organization and Supervision 



Protection of 
schools 
against parti- 
sanship and 
sectarianism. 



The adjust- 
ment of local 
and central au- 
thority. 



well to refer briefly to the power which lies be- 
hind the organization and which is alike its 
source and defence. This power is the will of 
the people as expressed in the constitution and 
laws of the state. In the constitution there 
should be a recognition of the necessity of main- 
taining free schools, and provision should be 
made to protect them from the debasement of 
partisanship and sectarianism. The statutes 
should go further by designating certain condi- 
tions and means for the establishment and 
maintenance of the schools. In the creation of 
offices and in the authorization of official func- 
tions the utmost wisdom is needed. The foster- 
ing of the people's interest in the schools and the 
protection of their rights will vvarrant the plac- 
ing of a large measure of power and responsi- 
bility directly into their hands and into the 
hands of local boards. 

On the other hand the protection of the 
schools from neglect and mistakes occasioned by 
indifference or ignorance on the part of those 
most directly concerned will require some cen- 
tralization of power, either by restrictive legis- 
lation or by the giving of authority to a central 
board or commission. To what extent general 
laws should be made in matters of education and 
how the powers conferred upon local and state 
authorities should be adjusted are difficult ques- 
tions and can be determined only by principles 
of wise government and by a careful considera- 
tion of circumstances. 

It should be borne in mind that the influence 



Nature and Source of School Organization 3 

of illiteracy or of poor schools extends beyond 
the circle iramediately concerned. What affects 
for ill one part of the state affects to a greater or 
less extent all other parts. If therefore a large 
majority of people are desirous of maintaining a 
high degree of intelligence throughout the state 
they are justified, in the interests of the state 
and of all the children in it, in making condi- 
tions to which the minority must conform. For 
this reason the state rightfully establishes a 
standard of educational opportunity for children 
which must be met by every town ; and lest some 
of the towns may be too heavily burdened in 
meeting the requirements, the state should pro- 
vide for such equalization of taxation as will Equalization 
enable all towns with reasonable effort to comply ^^ educational 
with the provisions of the law. To carry out andTaxation 
these beneficent ends there must be provided by 
law an organization both of official functions 
and of material means. Such an organization 
involves questions of the adjustment of central 
and local powers which are as difficult of solu- 
tion as they are important. 

Among the advantages of influential centrali- 
zation in education may be mentioned (1) the 
certainty of maintaining a high standard of ex- 
cellence in the schools of all parts of the state 
(2) the prevention of sudden changes of policy due 
to local jealousies or to the ignorance of local oflfi- of centraiiza- 
cials (3) needed assistance in determining the tion. 
curriculum and in making a course of studies 
(4) the securing of uniformly good attendance 
of pupils throughout the state. 



School Organization and Supervision 



Advantages of 
decentraliza- 
tion. 



Constant 
changes in 
systems of 
education. 



The advantages of centralization are positive 
and apparent, but they are no more positive and 
apparent than are the advantages of giving a 
large degree of responsibility and power directly 
to the people or of- what is sometimes called de- 
centralization. The chief of these advantages 
are (1) the encouragement of individual interest 
and effort in behalf of the schools on the part of 
the people (2) the ready adaptation of means to 
the peculiar needs of given localities (3) the op- 
portunity for a healthy and progressive rivalry 
among communities (4) the stimulus to personal 
exertion and professional skill on the part of 
teachers and supervisors. 

It is to be expected that the organization of 
any new system of schools will partake some- 
what of the character of existing civil condi- 
tions, and that modifications in the direction of 
centralization or decentralization will be made 
as the needs and the intelligence of the people de- 
mand them. Thus it is that the systems of edu- 
cation in Europe are highly centralized but are 
changing slowly in the direction of placing the 
schools in the control of the people. In this 
country there is a great variety of practice. In 
some sections the direction and support of the 
schools are largely under state control, while in 
other sections a large share of their control and 
financial support devolves upon the municipality. 
As might be expected, a constant change is going 
on in the administration of the schools of all 
sections — some of the states changing in the di- 
rection of local control and support and others 



Nature and Source of School Organization 5 

in the direction of centralization. These changes 
will doubtless go on until a fair balance of gen- 
eral and local control is reached, when, it may 
be supposed, the forms and conditions of school 
administration throughout the country will be 
alike in many important respects. 



CHAPTER TI 



A sufficient 
number of 
schools re- 
quired by law. 



LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS RESPECTING THE OR- 
GANIZATION OF SCHOOLS 

The following brief outline embraces the main 
features of legislative provisions needed for the 
establishment of a system of schools in which 
a large measure of power is given to the people 
subject to some needed restrictive conditions : 

1. The, mai7itenance in every town and city of a suffi- 
cient number of elementary schools for all the children 
of a certain school age and for a given time in the year ; 
and the maintenance of high schools in cities and large 
towns. 

The general requirement of a '^ sufficient 
number of schools" seems wiser than that of 
designating the distance beyond which pupils 
may not be obliged to walk or ride to school, 
inasmuch as what might be regarded as a rea- 
sonable distance under some conditions would be 
under other conditions quite unreasonable. A 
distance limit also might preclude towns from 
furnishing free conveyance of children to the 
schools as is provided in several states.* 

The term " sufficient number of schools " also 
has reference to efficiency as well as to con- 

"^^ For a statement as to the desirability of con- 
solidating the schools and for suggestions relat- 
ing to means and method of consolidation, see 
Appendix C. 

6 



Legislative Provisions f 07' Organization of Schools 7 

venience. For the protection of the schools it 
may be found necessary to designate by law a ' 

maximum number of pupils for each teacher. 
Some countries and states have made such a 
limit, but the number in a few cases has been 
placed so high as to set a wrong standard for com- '^^^^ number 
munities which regard the consideration of econo- j^g^JJJ^gj! ^ ^ ^ 
my more than that of the children's welfare. In 
some instances also the legal limit is ignored in ' 
practice. It is very important in this as well as 
in other educational matters that the legal re- 
quirements be kept not greatly in advance of 
public sentiment. 

The time during which schools should be re- 
quired to be maintained will depend somewhat 15 time re- 

^ ^ quircment of 

upon circumstances, but 8 months would seem school main- 
to be the least time for which any state should tenance. 
require the schools to be kept in the year. 
Similiar reasons for an indefiniteness of state- 
ment may be urged respecting the legal period 
of compulsory school attendance. A reasonable 
regard for the welfare of the children however 
would warrant the state's requiring 6 years at 
least of attendance upon the schools all the time 
they are in session.* 

* The compulsory school attendance laws vary 
considerably in the United States. In most of 
the 30 states having compulsory laws children 
from 8 to 14 years of age are required to attend 
school for 12, 16 or 20 weeks duririg each year. 
In some of the states the required time for school 
attendance is greater — thus in Colorado, Penn- 
sylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and 
Minnesota the required time for school attend- 



8 



School Organization and Supervision 



High schools 
to be estab- 
lished by law. 



In addition to the requirements respecting ele- 
mentary schools, there should be provision made 
by law for the establishment of high schools. 
That such schools should be free and within 
reach of all the children in a republic like ours 
is coming to be regarded as wise and, for many 
parts of the country, as feasible. They may be 
required to be maintained in certain accessible 
centres or they may be required in all cities and 
in towns of a given size. The studies required 
to be taught may be designated or there may be 
a provision that ihe schools shall prepare pupils 
for entrance to college or the higher technical 
schools.* 

ance is from 8 to 16 years of age with some ex- 
ceptions during the last 2 years. In Massachu- 
setts and New York children of compulsory age 
are required to attend school all the time the 
schools are in session and the schools must be 
in session 32 weeks. In Germany children 
are, with some limitations, obliged to attend 
school for 7 and 8 years after the age of 6. In 
France the compulsory age is from 6 to 13, and 
in England it is from 5 to 14. For further de- 
tails respecting school attendance in this and 
foreign countries see Hughes's "The Making of 
Citizens", pp. 134-141. 

* In Massachusetts such high schools are re- 
quired to be maintained in all cities and towns 
containiag 500 families, and provision is made 
for the children of other towns to attend some 
high school at the expense either of the town in 
which they live or of the state. 

Several of the central and western states have 
provided by law for county high schools to be 



Legislative Provisions for Organization of Schools 9 

^. The maintenance of schools for the care and edu- 
cation of habitual school absentees, of juvenile offenders, 
and of abnormal or defective children who cannot be 
cared for in the ordinary public schools. 

Compulsory school attendance implies an obli- 
gation on the part of the state to make suitable ^^^ ^aainte- 
provision for habitual violators of the law, either schools for 
by placing the absentees in good homes or by school absen- 
establishing truant or parental schools. These *^^^* 
schools should be situated in convenient localities 
and be under the control and care of the state. * 

Other schools should be established for those 
morally delinquent and physically defective chil- 
dren who cannot be educated in the ordinary 

supported and controlled by the county. In New 
York tuition in high schools of non- resident pu- 
pils from schools not maintaining an academic 
department is paid by the state, at the rate of 
120 for 32 weeks. In Nebraska the law permits 
pupils of country towns to attend an existing 
high school and provides for tuition fees at fixed 
rates to be paid by the county in which they re- 
side. In Minnesota state aid is given to city 
high schools, approved by state educational au- 
thorities upon condition of providing free tuition. 
For information relating to free high schools for 
rul^al pupils see report of the Commissioner of 
Education for 1899-1900, p. 643. 

* There seem to be good reasons for keeping 
all reformatory and penal institutions in the care 
of the state. Possible exceptioDs may be those 
institutions which are supported by large cities 
mainly for their own benefit. In any case they 
should be in charge of unpaid boards or com- 
missions, with paid executive agents. 



10 School Organization and Supervision 



Schools of re- 
formation and 
special -scliools 
for defectives. 



The function 
of state board 
of education 
advisory. 



public schools, such as juvenile offenders, blind, 
deaf, and feeble-minded. Attendance at these 
schools, as in the case of normal children, should 
be compulsory for all children of a certain age 
whose education is not otherwise provided for. 
Such schools should be entirely separate from 
truant schools and from the ordinary public 
schools, and should be so organized and conducted 
that the fullest beaefits to all concerned may be 
secured. * 

S. The establishment of a state board of education 
and the designation of its 'powers and duties. 

The powers and duties devolving upon the 
state board should be very general so far as its 
administration of the schools is concerned. In 
all matters pertaining to the direct management 
of the schools its function should be mainly 
advisory rather than directive. Through its 
executive officers it should lead and guide the 
educational sentiment of the state and be ready 
to shape such legislation as will be needed to 
promote the greatest efficiency of effort in be- 
half of the schools, t 

In the composition of the state board, as well 
as in the method by which its members are se- 
lected, much latitude may be given in the statute 

* A fuller treatment of this subject will be 
found in Chapter VI, under the heading of 
"Special Schools and Classes" — also in Appen- 
dix E. 

t For details respectiag the duties of the state 
board of education and its executive officers see 
Chapter III. 



Legislative Provisions for Organization of Schools 11 

requirements. The desirability of having the 

affairs of education removed as far as possible 

from pontics would favor the appointment of 

members by the governor rather than election by 

the legislature or people. And to secure the 

needed knowledge and continuity of service, the 

term of office of members should be at least four 

years in length. If the board has, as it should ^^^mbership of 
, ^ • ^ 1 i J . state board 

have, executive oincers who act as experts m ^nd term of 

educational matters, it need not and perhaps office. 
should not be composed of professional teachers. 
This restriction will be especially apparent in the 
case of teachers in institutions which are under 
the charge of the board. There are good reasons 
for having upon the board one or more members 
of the state executive departrnent. The number 
of appointed members should be small, perhaps 
not more than five. Better attendance at meet- 
ings will be secured and a greater degree of re- 
sponsibility will be felt in a small board than in 
a large one.* 

*Tn Prussia and other states of Germany the 
general board consists of skilled men to whom 
large powers are given. They are appointed by 
the minister of instruction, who is a member of 
the government. In France the general board 
or council also consists of educational leaders 
endowed with large powers; they are variously 
appointed, some by the president of the Repub- 
lic and some by officials of educational institu- 
tions. In the composition of state boards in 
this country there is a great variety of practice, 
some of the boards consisting chiefly or wholly 
of professional teachers, some of designated 
officials, and some of all classes of citizens. In 



12 School Organization and Supervision 

If,. The establishment of a local board for each town 
and city, with some provision to meet the needs of coun- 
try districts or small towns. 

The question of organization respecting the 
local school boards has mainly to do with the 
manner of selection, number of members, and 
term of office of members. 

First as to the selection of members. Shall 
they be elected by the people, by the city or town 
council, or by the executive? No doubt has 
been raised in this country either in practice or 
in theory as to the advisability of the popular 

states where members of the board are not des- 
ignated by law, they are either elected for a term 
of years by the general assembly or appointed 
by the governor. In Michigan 3 members are 
elected by the people. In New York all state 
education is in the hands of a board of regents of 
the University of the State of New York, con- 
sisting of 11 members elected by the legislature 
on joint ballot, each for a term of 11 years, one 
retiring each year. The following examples 
serve as types of practice followed in the various 
states : 

Indiana : Board composed of governor, state 
superintendent, president of state universiy, 
president of Purdue university, president of 
state normal school, and superintendents of the 
three largest cities of the state. 

Massachusetts: Board composed of governor, 
lieutenant-governor, and 8 persons appointed by 
the governor, one retiring each year. 

Connecticut : Board composed of the governor, 
lieutenant-governor, and 4- persons elected by the 
general ssembly. 



Legislative Provisions for Organization of Schools 13 

election of members in rural communities or 
small towns. But the arguments in favor of 
popular elections in such communities are equally 
strong in all. The public schools are the schools Members of 
of the public, that is of the people; and the local school 
people should be trusted in the control of their pje^ted by the 
schools to the extent at least of electing proper people. 
persons to manage them. For special reasons 
the administrative board should be given large 
powers — in fact almost unlimited powers in all 
questions of management. The largeness of their 
powers and the direct interest the people have 
in the schools will induce the people to make a 
careful selection. While in some communities 
there may be possible dangers attending a pop- 
ular election of members, the dangers in the long 
run of taking it out of the haods of the people 
and of placing it in the hands of a single person 
or commission are far more likely to be realized. 

The tendency in recent years to reduce the 
number of members of the board and increase g^^^j^ boards 
their term of service is noticeable. A board of desirable. 
3, 5, or 7 persons is likely to represent the best 
sentiment of the community quite as well as a 
larger one. Moreover the members of a small 
board are likely to be more carefully selected 
than those of a large one. 

The responsible and intricate duties of local 
school boards render it advisable to make the 
term of service for which members are elected , 

^ long one. Three years is not too long a time 
for members to acquire a good knowledge of the 
needs of the schools and of the means of meeting 



14 



School Organization and Supervision 



The term of 
service of 
school boards. 



Eligibility of 
members. 



The organiza- 
tion of county 
boards. 



them. It seems also advisable that the terms 
of service of the members shall not expire at 
the same time. It would be well for the length 
of the term and the time of election to be such as 
will oblige only a third of the members to retire 
in any one year. By this plan at least three 
years would be required to effect an entire 
change of membership by ordinary elections. 
A further provision should be made that no 
teacher shall be eligible for membership on any 
school board which elects him to his position as 
teacher or which fixes his salary. 

To meet the needs of rural schools where the 
county is the unit area of organization, laws 
should be passed enabling them to have privileges 
as nearly equal to those of villages and cities as 
possible. Provision for the election of a county 
board should be made which shall have jurisdic- 
tion over all the schools of the county. This board 
may be elected and organized in a manner simi- 
lar to that of the town boards already alluded to, 
and it may have essentially the same duties." 

5. Provision for the appointment of such officers and 
teachers as will be needed to secure regular attendance 
of children upon the schools, to insure the health of 
the pupils, and to raise the schools to the highest pos- 
sible degree of efficiency. 

Compulsory laws of school attendance presup- 
pose the existence of the means of their execu- 
tion. Chief among these means are properly 

* For the details of a possible plan of county 
organization for the supervision of schools see 
Chapter IV. Also Appendix B. 



Local and state 



Legislative Provisions for Organization of Schools 15 

appointed attendance officers to look after those 
pupils who are, without good reason, absent 
from school. In addition to attendance officers 
appointed by local boards there should be one or 
more state attendance officers appointed by the _ , 

attendance 

state board of education whose duty will be to officers to be 
see that the compulsory attendance laws are en- appointed. 
forced. This will be especially needed in coun- 
try districts where the obstacles to the enforce- 
ment of attendance laws are the greatest. 

The practice which prevails in many cities of 
appointing health officers for schools should be 
extended so as to include by law all the schools 
of the state. It should be required of the school 
board in every city and town to appoint one or 
more health officers whose duty will be to inspect tt i ^^ ^ . 
the physical condition of the pupils and to pro- to be appoint- 
vide not only for the prevention of disease but ed. 
also for the promotion of health among them. 

Such provision should be made by law as will 
insure for all the schools the best possible service 
both in teaching and in supervision. A mini- 

o i-r. J- J? . 1 1 IT 1 A minimum of 

mum of qualifications for teachers should be qualifications 
designated by the state board of education, and of teachers to 
provision should be made whereby each local ^^ designated. 
board in making a selection of teachers may 
select from candidates only those whose character 
and ability are unquestioned. 

The school board of each city and large town 
should be required to elect a superintendent of skilled super- 
schools, of given scholastic and professional qual- intendents of 

ifications. For the smaller towns district super- ^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^ 

elected 

vision which has worked so well in some states 



16 



School Organization and Supervision 



School super- 
vision in small 
towns. 



County 'super- 
intendents. 



Subjects of 
study to be 
designated by 
law. 



might well be made a requirement of statute law. 
The essential features of such a plan might be 
as follows : 

(1) Two or more towns to unite for purposes 
of supervision, the valuation of each town not 
to exceed a certain sum and the aggregate num- 
ber of schools in all the towns to be witliin given 
limits. 

(2) The formation of district limits to be 
made by the state board of education. 

(3) The superintendent to be elected by the 
combined boards in such a way as to protect the 
interests of each town and with designated limi- 
tations of choice. 

(4) Provision for such aid from the state as 
will be needed to pay the superintendent's salary. 

In states where the district plan of supervision 
is not feasible, one or more county superintend- 
ents should be appointed by the county board, 
with certain limitations as to number of schools, 
qualifications, etc."^ 

6. The designation of subjects to be taught in the 
schools. 

The required subjects to be taught in the ele- 
mentary schools should be language (including 
reading, spelling, penmanship, composition, writ- 
ing and English grammar), arithmetic, geogra- 
phy, elementary science, physiology and hygiene. 
School boards should be free to provide for the 
teaching of any subject not required to be taught, 

" For possible plans of district and county su- 
pervision see Chapter V and Appendix B. 



Provisions for 
high schools. 



Legis lative Provisions for Organization of Schools 17 

but certain desirable subjects may be named 
in the law as optional, such as geometry, alge- 
bra, industrial training and a foreign language. * 

In the law for the establishment of high 
schools there should be provisions which will in- 
sure a certain degree of efficiency. These provis- 
ions may include fitness of teachers, subjects of 
instruction, and length of course. f 

7. Provision for the financial support of the schools. \ 

There is no part of school legislation more 
difficult to formulate than that relating to taxa- ^difficulties m 
tion for the support of schools, especially in sdioois. 
states where the wealth is unequally distributed 
and where other conditions of school mainte- 
nance are widely different. Not only is the mat- 
ter of equalization of taxation to be considered, 
but the question of how far local support of the 

* For details concerning the curriculum in this 
and foreign countries see Chapter VI and Ap- 
pendix G. 

t In the Massachusetts high schools, teachers 
of " competent ability and good morals " are re- 
quired to give instruction in such subjects "as 
may be required for the general purpose of train- 
ing and culture as well as for the purpose of 
preparing pupils for admission to state normal 
schools, technical schools, and colleges. " These 
schools are required to maintain one or more 
courses of study at least 4 years in length 40 
weeks in each year. The requirement to maintain 
high schools is made of all cities and towns hav- 
ing 500 families. Towns having fewer than 500 
families are to permit qualified pupils to attend 
high schools in other towns, the tuition for the 
same to be paid in whole or part by the state. 



18 School Organization and Supervision 



Two methods 
of distributing 
school funds. 



Importance of 
local taxation 
for support of 
schools. 



schools is Decessary to a proper public spirit in 
relation to education and to the prevention of 
a weakening dependence upon the state on ac- 
count of benefits received. 

General laws of taxation for the support of 
schools and distribution of funds are found to 
proceed either from the municipality to the state 
or vice versa. For example the law may provide 
as it does in some states that a certain sum per 
pupil or per school shall be raised by local taxa- 
tion, with the understanding that the balance 
needed for the support of the schools shall be 
drawn either from an established fund or from 
funds raised by general or state tax. Or as in 
other states the law may provide that each 
municipality shall receive a certain sum per 
pupil or per teacher from the state with the un- 
derstanding that the balance needed shall be 
raised by local taxation. 

Again, it is assumed in some states that the 
more wealthy municipalities while sharing in 
the general or state tax are not in need of aid 
and therefore ought not to receive any return 
whatever from the state ; that is, these cities and 
towns provide means not only for the support 
of their own schools but also in some degree for 
the support of the schools in other and less 
favored localities. 

Whatever scheme of state assistance is adopt- 
ed, the importance of local taxation for the sup- 
port of schools should be considered. The moral 
support which a community gives to the schools 
will be largely measured by the financial support 



Legislative Provisions for Organization of Schools 19 

it gives. Where schools are wholly or largely 
supported by local taxation, there will be found 
a strong public interest and pride in the schools 
whatever their real merit may be. 

It is true that in many countries like Germany 
where education is supported largely by the 
state good schools abound. Indeed it may be 
said that the schools are likely to be more uni- 
formly good in such countries and states than in 
countries and states which force each commun- 
ity to support its schools ; but in a country like 
ours founded upon the idea of local self govern- 
ment it is fitting that the central treasury shall 
be used only when the given locality becomes 
unable to maintain the standard necessary for 
the good of all. In the long run too it is prob- 
able that the schools of a country will be best 
whose support as well as control is largely in 
the hands of those who are directly benefited. 

In any plan of local taxation for either the 
entire or partial support of schools there is likely Equalization 
to be some inequality in the burden assumed, of taxation 
If it is assumed, as it should be, that all the needed. 
children of a state ought to have as far as possi- 
ble equal opportunities, it must be admitted that 
the burden of support ought to be uniform so far 
as it can be made so throughout the state. The 
most just and equitable plan would be for a special 
commission to give careful consideration to the 
conditions and needs of every city and town, 
and to provide that each municipality pay toward 
the support of its schools a sum in proportion to 
its ability to pay and with reference to its other 



20 School Organization and Supervision 

needs, the state paying the balance needed to 
bring the schools up to the required standard. 
Even this plan could not be carried out without 
difficulty; tor whatever adjustments the com- 
mission might make, they would be subject to 
criticism by jealous communities. 



CHAPTER III 

STATE ADMINISTRATION OF SCHOOLS 

The laws of a state relating to the establish- 
ment and maintenance of public schools must rpj^ , .. ^ 
be administered by designated boards or officials, local school 
As has been said the most orderly method of boards. 
administration is through boards as far removed 
as possible from the influence of politics. The 
work of these boards of administration may be 
classed as legislative, executive, and supervisory ; 
legislative, in establishing schools and providing 
for their maintenance by directions and rules 
governing the duties of all concerned in the 
management of the schools; executive, in carry- 
ing into effect the directions and rules of legis- 
lation ; and supervisory, in overseeing, advising, 
and directing the work of the schools. 

In a certain sense the schools may be said to 
be town or city schools, but in realit}^ they are -p^^ ^. ^ ^ 
state schools so long as they are established and local and state 
maintained under the laws of the state. For administration. 
the purpose of securing the direct interest of the 
people, a large measure of the responsibility for 
maintaining good schools should rest upon the 
municipality. While there should be little cen- 
tralized authority in the state, there are some 
functions which can best be perfoimed by a 
general or state board of education, assisted by 
such executive and supervisory officers as may 
be needed. 

21 



22 



School Organization and Supervision 



Present duties 
of state boards 
of education 



Reasons for 
and against 
centralization. 



State board of education— Among the duties 
now devolving upon state boards of education 
in this country may be named the following: 

(1) having general charge of educational in- 
terests in the state 

(2) appointing the state superintendent of 
schools 

(3) appointing county superintendents of 
schools 

(4) having charge of state normal schools 

(5) prescribing course of studies for the public 
schools 

(6) granting licenses to teachers 

(7) prescribing text-books 

(8) recommending text-books and reference 
books 

(9) settling controversies between school officers 

(10) having control of state funds 

(11) commissioning high schools to send pupils 
to the state university 

(12) preparing blank forms for the use of 
towns 

(13) hearing appeals. 

The duties as outlined above may be divided 
broadly into two classes, those that are general 
and those that are special and technical. An- 
other and closer view of the prescribed duties 
shows that to some boards are given judicial and 
legislative functions, while others have only 
supervisory or advisory duties to perform. 

If it is assumed that local boards cannot 
wisely control such matters as the selection of 
text-books, making courses of studies, and the 



State A dminisira tion of Schoo Is 2 3 

licensing of teachers, or if a full and prompt 
enforcement of the laws cannot be secured by 
the local authorities, or again if centrahzed 
authority in respect to the securing of high 
standards of education is more to be trusted 
than the direct will of the people, then a large 
measure of authority and close direction or 
supervision of the duties named should be ex- 
ercised by the state board. But these assump- 
tions cannot be fairly made. Certainly the 
principle should not be maintained in a republic 
that the people in either educational or political 
affairs cannot be trusted. It is true that the 
people themselves may decide that, for certain 
reasons, some measure of centralization in edu- 
cational affairs should be maintained, as in the 
designation of a certain standard of proficiency 
in the maintenance of schools. The question 
is how far this centralization of power should go. 
The following statement of powers and duties 
of a state board may fairly represent the medium The proper 
of two kinds of practice in this country. It is P^^^^'^ ^°^ 
an attempt also to show what prerogatives may ^^^^.^ ^f g^^. 
be exercised by the state board in its assistance cation. 
of city and town boards without unduly impair- 
ing their responsibility and authority.* 

^ The two states which represent the extremes 
of power given to the state board of education 
and its chief executive officers are perhaps Cali- 
fornia and Massachusetts. In California the 
state board 

(a) adopts rules and regulations for the gov- 
ernment of the public schools 



24 School Organization and Supervision 

1. Full control of the normal schools and other edu- 
cational institutions supported wholly by the state. 

The function of the normal school is to train 
teachers needed for service in the public schools. 
Owing to the peculiar service that the teachers 
render the state and to the small remuneration 
that they receive compared with members of 
other professions, it is the custom generally for 
the state to furnish free tuition to all normal 
^ school students. To direct the expenditure of 

Full control of , , . , , , , , i n • ^ . 

state educa- money thus mvolved and to establish m a cer- 
tionai institu- tain way the kind of qualifications needed for 
tions. teachers of the public schools are functions 

which naturally fall upon the state board of 

education. 

" Other educational institutions "referred to as 
properly subject to the control of the state board 
are the schools for the blind, deaf and dumb, 
feeble-minded, etc. Also schools for juvenile 
offenders and truant schools. 

{h) makes rules and establishes a standard of 
proficiency for the examination of teachers 

(c) prescribes course of study and text-books 

{d) grants life licenses to teachers on recom- 
mendation of the board of education and may 
revoke the same. 

In Massachusetts but little direct authority is 
given to the state board beyond having full 
charge of the normal schools, holding in trust 
gifts and bequests made for educational purposes, 
prescribing the form of school registers and re- 
turns, holding teachers institutes, and certificat- 
ing superintendents of union districts. 



State Administration of Schools 25 

2. A partial or advisory control of all educational 
institutions supported in part by the state. 

This provision applies to private institutions 
in which the education of children and adults is Partial control 
carried on at the expense of the state, such as ^^ ?!^^^*^. ^^' 

^ ' ucational in- 

normal schools, reformatories, and schools for stitutions. 
defectives. The form in which the control is 
effected should depend upon circumstances. In 
some cases one or more pprsons appointed by the 
board of education might serve upon the board 
of managers. In other cases the state's inter- 
ests might be best served by inspection and re- 
ports made by one or more of the executive 
officials of the board of education. 

3. The designation of a minimum of qualifications 
for all the teachers of the public schools. 

If it is true as has been affirmed that '' what 
affects for ill one part of the state affects to a 
greater or less extent all other parts," and if 
there is general indifference or unwillingness ADimimum 
in some portions of the state to provide good quaiificatioii& 
teachers, then there should be fixed a minimum to be desig- 
of qualifications for all the teachers of the state, ^^ated. 
There are some good reasons why a minimum 
of qualifications should be established by the 
state board of education rather than by statute 
law. In the first place the standard of qualifi- 
cations when set by a board is likely to be higher 
than when determined by law. Moreover adapta- 
tion to the changing needs of given communities 
may be made to a greater degree by a board 
than by a legislature. 

There are two ways of fixing the qualifica- 



26 School Organization and Supervision 

tions of teachers (1) by setting forth what the 
quahfications shall be, as for example gradua- 
tion from certain institutions; (2) by examining 
all candidates and decreeing that all teachers 
selected by towns and cities must have received 
a certificate of one or another grade. "^ 

4-. Nomination of county or district superintendents of 
schools who are supported in full or in part by the 
state. 

Experience has shown that in the election of 
Nomination of superintendents as well as in the election of 

count\^ and dis- , -, j • , • i i n i 

trict superin- teachers some restrictions should be put upon 
tendents. the action of the local boards which elect. This 

restriction is especially needed when the salary 
of the superintendent, in whole or in part, is 
paid by the state. For each vacancy in the 
office of such superintendent the state board 
may be required to make one or more nomina- 
tions for the action of the local board, or the 
election may be made from a general list of 
candidates approved by the state board, f 

* In many of the states teachers are required 
to pass a state or county examination, but in 
nearly every case the standard set is quite too 
low; so low that it is not a difficult matter for 
teachers to secure positions on other grounds 
than those of merit. In Massachusetts local 
certificates only are required; but in this state 
more than two-thirds of the teachers of elemen- 
tary schools have been professionally trained 
either in a state normal school or in a city train- 
ing school. About the same proportion of sec- 
ondary school teachers are college graduates. 

fin New Jersey, Mississippi, and Virginia the 
county superintendent is appointed by the state 



State Administration of Schools 27 

5. The appointment of one or more state attendance 
officers luho shall act in conjunction with local officials 
in enforcing school attendance laws. 

In many places doubtless the local attendance 
or truant officers may be trusted to enforce the Appointment 
school attendance laws of the state ; but there of state attend- 
are some places of which that cannot be said. ^^^^ officers. 
Even in the law-abiding towns there are likely 
to exist circumstances in which the local officers 
need the support and co-operation of a state 
official who can act independent of local consid- 
erations. 

6. The making and sending out of school registers 
<ind other statistical blanks so as to secure a uniform 
basis of statistics. 

The need of uniformity in the making of sta- 
tistics is unquestioned, and this can be gained Pieparation of 
only by the use of uniform blanks throughout !^i^^t^^^ 
the state. The information called for should be 
limited to the needs of those who desire to make 
a comparison of conditions upon which the wel- 

board of education. In most states the office is 
elective, with meagre educational prerequisites to 
eligibility. 

In Massachusetts the superintendents of union 
districts are elected by a joint committee of local 
boards, but their qualifications are determined by 
the state board of education. 

In New York the school commissioners, who 
correspond to the county superintendents of 
other states and whose salaries are paid by the 
state, are elected by the people, without restric- 
tion as to qualification, and hence the office is 
often regarded as a political gift. 



28 



School Organization and Supervision 



Report to leg- 
islature. 



The awaken- 
ing of public 
interest in ed- 
ucation. 



fare of the schools depends. It would be well if 
a common form of statistics could be agreed 
upon for the entire country. In another place 
will be found an outline of school statistics care- 
fully prepared by a committee of the National 
Educational association.* 

7. The rendering of a report to the legislature re- 
specting the condition and needs of the public schools 
of the state and of all other educational institutions sup- 
ported in full or in part by the state. 

Such a report should contain tables of statis- 
tics gathered from the various towns and cities, 
together with such comparisons and comments 
as will be both suggestive and helpful to all con- 
cerned in the welfare of the schools. It should 
also contain reports of inspectors and others 
authorized to give actual educational conditions 
and results. 

S. The awakening of a strong public sentiment among 
the people in favor of popular education and the ren- 
dering of wise counsel in maintaining the schools on a 
high standard of excellence. 

The history of education in this country shows 
the futility of making laws that are not sup- 
ported by public opinion. It can be shown also 
by experience that the welfare of the schools is 
directly promoted by an enlightened public sen- 
timent as to the purposes and means of educa- 
tion. 

9. The appointment of a chief executive officer and 
such assistants as are needed to carry out the policy of 
the board. 



* 



Appendix D. 



State Administration of Schools 29 

The board of education should be an unpaid 
board, and its members cannot therefore be ex- ^^ appomt- 

' ment of execu- 

pected to give more time to their duties than tive officers. 
will be needed for legislation. The executive 
details and the settlement of questions directly 
relating to teaching must be in the hands of 
persons whose time is given wholly to this work. 

State superintendent of schools — Much of what 
may be said in relation to the mode of appoint- 
ment, term of service, and duties of a state 
superintendent has already been referred to. 
The reasons named for removing the appoint- 
ment and functions of the state board of educa- 
tion as far as possible from the influence of poli- 
tics are even more potent in relation to the ex- 
ecutive officer of the board. It is plainly un- 
wise to make the office a foot-ball for politicians, 
either in a popular election or in an election by 
the legislature. As has been said he should be penntendent 
appointed by the board, and, since it is wise to an appointed 
separate the legislative and executive functions official. 
of the board, he should not be a member of it 
His term of service should be sufficiently long to 
enable him to acquire wisdom in the formula- 
tion and carrying out of plans, and his tenure 
of office should be so secure as to make him free "The supenn- 

-, . -, ^ ,. Ti Pi-Ti- tendent s term 

and mdependent m the discharge ot his duties, ^ud tenure of 
After a trial service of a definite term he should ^®^^- 
be elected during the pleasure of the board. 

His duties may be inferred from the duties 
already enumerated as belonging to the board. 
Such of these duties as need careful direction or 
professional knowledge will be performed by 



30 



School Organization and Supervision 



Powers and 
duties of the 
state superin- 
tendent. 



him. In general it may be said that all the 
details of functions belonging to the board are 
to be performed either by the superintendent 
directly or under his direction — the duty of the 
board being chiefly to pass upon the acts of the 
superintendent. 

He should be a man of liberal education and 
large experience as an educator and have a strong^ 
and exalted personality. Such assistance should 
be afforded him in his executive and clerical du- 
ties as will give him the largest opportunity to 
impress upon the schools of the state his ideas of 
what they should be. This he will do by attend- 
ance upon and participation in county and other 
educational meetings, by educational addresses 
before the people, by teachers' institutes, in 
which the aid of the most advanced lecturers 
and instructors is had, by advice to local school 
boards and superintendents in their work, and 
by visits to the state normal schools. 

In all this work he should be aided by able as- 
sistants who will act with him under the direc- 
tion of the board. 

Besides advising the state board in respect to 
its action as a board and carrying out its require- 
ments in relation to all state educational insti- 
tutions, he has constantly to act in directing and 
regulating matters relating to the school census, 
registers, etc., in tabulating and reporting the 
results of official inquirers, in advising the legis- 
lature as to the making of new laws and the 
changing of old ones, in answering personally 
and by letter inquiries in relation to the inter- 



State Administration of Schools 31 

pretation and enforcement of school laws, in at- 
tending and addressing educational meetings, 
and in arousing among the people by addresses 
and reports a public sentiment in favor of the 
schools. If it is found advisable to provide for 
the state examination and certification of teach- 
ers, that duty so far as direction is concerned 
must devolve upon him, or upon some one ap- 
pointed for the purpose.^ 

* The present system of New York is in this re- 
spect noteworthy. The non-political and perma- 
nent board of regents (see page 12) elects as its 
executive officer a commissioner of education for 
a term of 6 years with a salary of 19,000. He 
appoints three assistant commissioners with 
salaries of 15,000 and heads of departments at 
salaries of $3,000 to $1,000, subject to the ap- 
proval of the board of regents. These assistant 
commissioners and heads of departments appoint 
their subordinates subject to the approval of the 
commissioner. Thus each officer has permanent 
appointment, with all needed power and re- 
sponsibility. 



CHAPTER IV 



CITY AND TOWN ADMINISTRATION OF SCHOOLS 



Two distinct 
classes of du- 
ties in school 
administration 



The organization of a model system of schools 
rests upon the assumption that the most active, 
direct, and responsible management must be 
local rather than centralized. To each city and 
town belongs the duty of keeping the schools 
up to as high a degree of excellence as possible, 
and this must be done not directly by the people 
but by persons duly elected for the purpose. 

The local school board. — The definition of gen- 
eral administrative functions given elsewhere* 
may be applied with special force to the duties 
of local boards. These legislative, executive, 
and supervisory functions belong to two quite 
different and distinct classes of duties — one 
class relating to financial and other business 
matters and the other class having to do with 
matters which, because of their technical char- 
acter, may be called professional. For the good 
of the schools it is very important that there be 
a wise designation of duties among all who are 
employed in their service. This may be secured 
by. carefully drawn rules stating what duties shall 
be performed by the board collectively, what by 
individual members or sub-committees of the 
board, and what by appointed officials. 



Page 21. 



32 



City and Town Administration of Schools 33 

The wisdom of a separation of functions in 
civil government is unquestioned. This separa- 
tion seems all the more imperative when the 
duties involved are as technical as some of the 
duties of school administration are. The exact 
line of separation is doubtless difficult to define 
in some cases, but in general it may be said that 
the board should have general charge and super- 
vision of the schools, and that upon it as a board 
must rest the responsibility of making such pro- 
visions as will give a reasonable assurance of 
good results. 

Before an attempt is made to determine what 
duties if any the school board shall have outside 
of the general legislative duties already men- 
tioned, it may be well to point out in detail the 
duties which must be performed in efiiciently 
carrying on the work of the schools ; these nec- 
essary duties are 

(1) keeping in repair the school buildings 

(2) providing for adequate ventilation and 
lighting of the school-rooms istrationout 

(3) purchasing of fuel lined 

(4) purchasing and keeping in repair the school 
furniture 

, (5) caring for the school-rooms and grounds 

(6) selecting and purchasing the needed appa- 
ratus 

(7) selecting and purchasing the needed text- 
books and reference books 

(8) making a course of studies 

(9) appointing truant officers and otherwise 



The duties of 
school admin- 



34 



School Organization and Supervison 



powers of 
school boards. 



providing for an enforcement of the law relating 
to school attendance 

(10) appointing the teachers 

(11) inspecting and directing the work of the 
teachers 

(12) classifying and promoting the pupils 

(13) making statistical and other reports to the 
state board of education and to the citizens of 
the town or city. 

In determining which if any of the details of 
Needed limita- these duties may be performed directly by the 
tions of the board, two limitations naturally present them- 
selves : first, that of a lack of time which mem- 
bers can give to minute supervisory and execu- 
tive duties; and, secondly, that of inability to 
perform those duties which require professional 
knowledge and skill. It must be assumed that 
the chief attention and time of members must 
be given to their vocation, whatever it is, and 
that only such scraps of time may be given to 
their official duties as can be spared from the 
farm, factory, or counting-room. It is of course 
conceivable for members to be employed in some 
of the executive details of school administra- 
tion, such as janitor service, repairing buildings, 
and purchasing supplies. But even in this ser- 
vice the questionableness of having a member or 
sub-committee serve as both principal and agent 
will readily appear, especially if compensation 
is received for service rendered. 

The second limitation named, that of unfit- 
ness of the members to perform the details of 
administration, applies to those duties which are 



City and Town Administration of Schools 35 

professional in character. Strange to say this 
limitation does not so readily appear as does the 
first, especially to newly elected members of a ^^ ^ . 

' ^ , "^ *' Frofessional 

board. It is only at a comparatively recent date supervision 
that the function of professional or skilled super- needed, 
vision has been to any degree recognized in this 
country as essential or even helpful to the wel- 
fare of the schools.^ In the centralized school 
systems of Europe, particularly those of Ger- 
many, France and England, professional super- 
vision is as fully established as is professional 
teaching ; while in those parts of our own coun- 
try where the greatest progress in education has 
been made, the supervision of the schools has 
been changed from that of non-professional 
school boards to that of superintendents elected 
for their ability to organize the schools and direct 
the work of the teachers. « 

Besides the superintendent of schools there 
should be employed by the board several execu- Executive 
tive officials, whose duties so far as they bear officials of the 
directly upon the work of the schools should be b^^^^- 
under the direction of the superintendent. 
These officials are a business manager, a physi- 
cal director, one or more attendance officers, and 
one or more medical inspectors, f 

The advisability of the appointment of special 
supervisors, such as supervisors of primary 
grades, of drawing, of music, and of physical 

* For a brief history of supervision and for 
plans of organization see Appendix A. 

t Medical inspectors may be appointed by the 
local board of health. See Appendix F. 



36 School Organization and Supervision 

training, will depend upon circumstances. In 

The appoint- i , n • -i -i > t i 

ment of special ^ ^^^^^ svstem of independent schools or m 
supervisors not a svstem of schools of any size in which a 
always desir- large proportion of the teachers are untrained, 
a special direction of work upon lines indicated 
above seems desirable. But where there are 
competent supervising principals and where the 
teachers are trained as they should be, the direc- 
tion of work by special supervisors is not neces- 
sary or even advisable. There is such a thing as 
too much supervision of work, especially of the 
work of intelligent well-trained teachers. Such 
teachers need to have a large degree of freedom 
in carrying on their work, and abundant oppor- 
tunity to correlate their teaching in all the sub- 
jects of the school. 

If upon any one line or department of subjects 

"^ special supervision is necessary to the highest 

efficiency, it is found in connection with the phy- 

uties o t e g.^^j welfare of the pupils. For want of a bet- 

pnysical ^ ^ 

director. ter term to designate the official who will assume 

this service, that of physical director is named. 
His duties will be to see that the hygienic con- 
ditions of the schools are what they should be, 
and that the work and play of each individual 
pupil are such as will secure for him the highest 
degree of health, grace, and strength. In small 
systems of schools he may also perform the du- 
ties usually performed by a medical inspector. 

Secretary of the board. — The secretary may 
or may not be a member of the board. His 
duties should be those ordinarily performed by 
such an official, such as recording the proceed- 



City and Town Administration of Schools ■ 37 

ings of the board in a permanent record book, 

calling special meetings, notifying members of ^*^^^^ *"® 

S6cr6t&ry, 

the board of all meetings, notifying each execu- 
tive officer and each member of a committee of 
his appointment, preserving files of communica- 
tions and documents belonging to the board, fur- 
nishing all teachers appointed by the board with 
certificates of their qualifications and appoint- 
ment, and preparing school returns called for by 
the national Bureau of Education or state board 
of education. 

Sub-committees. — There is a tendency in most 
school boards to make the number of sub-com- 
mittees unduly great. The rule should be fol- 
lowed of having sub-committees only for busi- 
ness which cannot be well done by the full Fewsub-com- 
board, and which it is not wise to leave fully in mittees needed. 
the hands of the superintendent or any other 
executive officer. A committee on finance may 
be necessary to approve bills and audit the ac- 
counts ; also to recommend appropriations from 
carefully made estimates. A committee on 
school- houses should have in charge all matters 
relating to the erection and alteration of school- 
houses ; such a committee might also nominate 
the janitors and supervise their work. A com- 
mittee on furniture and supplies should have in 
charge the purchase, change, and alteration of 
school furniture; also the purchase, care, and 
distribution of all supplies, including text-books, 
reference books, stationery, etc. A committee 
on text- books and course of studies should pass 
in review the recommendations of the superin- 



38 School Organization and Supervision 



The necessity 
of clearly de- 
fined duties. 



Construction 
and care of 
buildings. 



tendent respecting text-books and the course of 
studies, and report to the board. 

It is beheved that to the above-named com- 
mittees all business may be committed that can- 
not be performed by the executive officers of the 
board or by special committees. Certainly no 
sub-committee should be appointed which will 
in any way arrogate to itself duties or functions 
which belong to the superintendent or any other 
executive officer. These officials ought to be 
held responsible for the efficient performance of 
certain clearly defined duties, and in such per- 
formance there should be no divided responsi- 
bility. 

The superintendent of schools. — The superin- 
tendent is the chief executive and advisory officer 
of the board, employed as an expert in matters 
pertaining to the teaching and training of chil- 
dren. The division line already hinted at be- 
tween the duties of such an expert and those of 
the board and other officials should be clearly 
defined, in the interests both of economy and of 
the welfare of the schools. 

In the construction, permanent repairs, and 
care of school buildings there is needed profes- 
sional advice which relates to the convenience of 
the school and the health of the pupils. This 
advice should be given by the superintendent, 
matters of detail being left to others. 

In matters of equipment, which includes every- 
thing that is needed to carry on the schools, the 
superintendent's advice should be given respect- 
ing the kind and quantity desired. So far as 



City and Town Administration of Schools 39 

furniture and furnishings are concerned, his ad- 
vice may or may not be followed by the board ; S^^^ool equip- 
but in respect to text and reference books the 
prerogative of the superintendent should extend 
so far as to make it impossible for any books to 
be selected in opposition to his recommendation. 
Needed apparatus and ordinary supplies should 
be ordered under the direction of the superin- 
tendent, either by the teachers or by an agent 
appointed for the purpose. Their distribution 
should be provided for in other ways than by 
the superintendent's personal care. It is poor 
economy to give the work of an expressman or 
errand boy to a highly paid official. In country 
districts, however, where the schools are far 
apart, some of the work of distribution may be 
done by the superintendent with little loss of 
time on his part. 

In all the work of supervision, no greater degree 
of technical or professional work is needed any- course of 
where than in the making of a course of studies, studies. 
and the superintendent alone should do it, or be 
responsible for it. For reasons of protection 
against possible contingencies, the course should 
be ratified by the board, but no additions or 
omissions should be made without the superin- 
tendent's sanction. The course of studies is to 
teaching what the mariner's chart is to naviga- 
tion, and no unprofessional hand^should tamper 
with it. 

Full power should be given to the superintend- 
ent to nominate teachers, and, when elected, to 
assign them to the schools in which they are to 



40 School Organization and Supervision 



Nomination 
and direction 
of teachers. 



Suspension 
and dismissal 
of teachers. 



Classification 
and promotion 
of pupils. 



teach. Power also should be given him to fill 
temporary vacancies by substitute teachers. 
He should inspect and examine the. schools fre- 
quently, and make such suggestions to teachers 
concerning teaching and discipline as v^ill assist 
them in their work. These suggestions may be 
made to teachers individually or to them collect- 
ively in teachers' meetings, which he should have 
power to call. Sometimes the suggestions will 
need to be made by class recitations conducted 
by the superintendent or by some one whom he 
appoints. 

The function of suspending and dismissing 
teachers, as well as of electing them, should be 
performed by the school board upon recom- 
mendation of the superintendent. Good rea- 
sons are assigned for giving the power to sus- 
pend and dismiss teachers to the superintend- 
ent ; but the reasons for withholding that power 
from him and for putting it alone in the 
hands of the committee are strong enough, at 
least, to make doubtful the policy of the, as- 
sumption by the superintendent of the full power 
either to suspend or dismiss teachers. 

By a knowledge of pupils gained through in- 
spection and examination and by the advice of 
teachers, he should arrange for the proper classi- 
fication and promotion of pupils. For such im- 
portant functions he alone should be responsible. 
Only in this way can be avoided the mistakes of 
the varying standards of teachers' judgment 
on the one hand, and of the pressure upon school 
boards for unmerited promotions on the other. 



City and Town Administration of Schools 41 

Wise plans should be made by the superintend- 
ent for the placing of each pupil at any time 
where he can do the most for himself. 

Aid through counsel and active support should 
be given by the superintendent to the school 
committee, teachers, and attendance officers for School attend- 
the securing of punctual and regular attendance ^^^^' 
of pupils at school. He should promptly report 
all violations of the law relating to school at- 
tendance and help in its proper enforcement. 
For the possible protection of the superintendent 
from thoughtless attacks of offended parties, 
the school board should assume the responsi- 
bility for the enforcement of any rule relating 
to excuses for absence and the suspension or 
dismissal of pupils. 

The superintendent's duty to the people and 
patrons of the schools cannot be set forth in 
formal phrase. By all ways in his power he is 
to keep up an enlightened public sentiment in ^^^ t ^-oS s " " 
regard to the schools, and to aid in fostering a 
cordial co-operation on the part of all who have 
any part in their maintenance. By reports, pub- 
lic addesses, parents' conferences, newspaper 
articles and private conversation he is honestly 
and fearlessly to tell the truth as to the needs of 
the schools and express the hopes and plans he 
has for their improvement. 

In circumstances where the superintendent 
cannot attend to details, as in cities or large 
areas of schools, he may delegate certain duties 
to principals of schools or other teachers, hold- 
ing them to the same responsibility which he 



42 School Organization and Supervision 



Details to be 
delegated. 



Character of 
rules needed. 



assumes to the school board. In a system 
of schools which requires much clerical work, 
that work should be done by a clerk, so as to 
allow the superintendent all the time possible for 
professional duties. To avoid any misunder- 
standing, carefully prepared rules should be 
adopted by the board, defining the duties of 
the superintendent in all important features of 
his work, and giving him the largest freedom 
consistent with a proper recognition of the rights 
and responsibilities of the school board. 

The following rules embody recommendations 
and suggestions relating to the duties of a super- 
intendent of schools. They may serve as a basis 
for the rules of school boards which are will- 
ing to put so large a part of the direct work of 
the schools in the hands of the superintendent. 

RULES RELATING TO THE DUTIES OF THE SUPER- 
INTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 

Huiestobe 1- General powers. — It is the province of the 

adopted gov- superintendent to manage and direct the work 
€rmngtiie ^£ instruction and training in the schools, and 
duties of the su- ^^ advise in all other matters which have any 
perintendent. relation to such work. 

2. School buildings. — In all work of construc- 
tion and alteration of school buildings the super- 
intendent shall advise respecting matters which 
relate to the convenience of the school and 
health of the pupils. 

3, School equipment. — He shall advise as to 
the kind and quantity of furniture and furnish- 
ings needed for each school. He shall also recom- 
mend all text-books and reference books that 



City and Town Administration of Schools 43 

are needed, and no book shall be selected by the 
board in opposition to his recommendation. 
Apparatus and ordinary supplies within the ap- 
propriation made by the board for that purpose 
may be ordered under his direction as they are 
needed. 

^. Course of studies. — He shall prepare and 
recommend to the board for adoption a course of 
studies for the schools, and any changes that he 
may from time to time deem advisable. No 
course of studies or any part of a course shall be 
adopted without the sanction of the superin- 
tendent. 

S. Teachers. — It shall be the prerogative of 
the superintendent to recommend suitable per- 
sons for positions as teachers, and the board 
shall elect no teacher not recommended by the 
superintendent. He shall assign to places all 
teachers elected by the board, and transfer teach- 
ers from one school to another whenever in his 
opinion such transfer will secure greater effi- 
ciency in the schools. 

He shall fill all vacancies occasioned by the 
absence of teachers, and recommend to the 
board the suspension or dismissal of any teacher, 
whenever in his judgment such suspension or 
dismissal is necessary for the good of the schools. 

He shall inspect and examine the schools fre- 
quently, and make such suggestions to teachers 
as will assist them in their work. He shall at 
proper times hold meetings of teachers for a dis- 
cussion of the principles and methods of school 
work, and shall at his discretion give permis- 



44 School Organization and Supervision 

sion to teachers to attend teachers' conventions 
or institutes and to visit schools. 

6. Pupils. — The superintendent shall arrange 
for the proper classification and promotion of 
pupils, with the sole object of placing each pupil 
at any time where he can do the most for him- 
self. He shall excuse any pupil from pursuing 
one or more subjects of study and from attend- 
ing school a portion of the time, whenever in 
his judgment the best interests of the pupil are 
served by such action. He shall pass judgment 
in the case of suspended pupils, either returning 
them to the schools or reporting them to the 
school board, with such recommendations as he 
may see fit to make. 

7. Meetings of the board. — He shall attend all 
meetings of the board, and have the privilege of 
speaking upon any question before it, but not of 
voting. Opportunity shall be given him at each 
regular meeting to make a report upon the con- 
dition of the schools, and to present recommen- 
dations for its action. 

It will be observed that the foreging rules do 
not refer to the minor details of the superintend- 
ent's duties, such as keeping needed records of his 
office, ringing the bell for no session of the 
schools, and providing for the transfer of pupils. 
Nor are those duties mentioned which he is re- 
quired bv law to do, such as excusins: cases of 

of supermten- ^ -^ ' iii-. ii 

(jejjt necessary absence from school and signmg school 

attendance blanks. All these and other duties 
are either understood or may be defined at any 
time by special vote of the board. Moreover, 



Other duties 



City and Town Administration of Schools 45 

the proposed rules do not hedge him about with 
requirements and restrictions as to the precise 
manner in which he shall spend his time. 
The rules should be made upon the presumption 
that the superintendent is a person of ability, 
common sense, and integrity. If he is wanting 
in any one of these necessary virtues, no rules 
will make him what he ought to be, and no 
rules ought to be necessary to show to the com- 
mittee his unfitness for the work. 

The question may be raised whether the pow- 
ers and duties of a superintendent of schools, as School super- 
outlined above, fairly or fully meet the needs of ^.j^jgg 
supervision in the large cities. It has been as- 
sumed in recent years that such cities present 
difficulties which cannot be met by means ordi- 
narily used in smaller cities. So strong is this 
feeling in some cities; that a radical change of 
school administration is advocated by earnest 
reformers. 

No doubt the form of the superintendent's 
work should vary somewhat with the number of 
schools he has to care for; but it is a serious 
question whether the great extent of his work 
should lessen the professional character of it. 
With the assistance that ought to be given, and 
conditions of freedom from politics, there is no 
more reason why a superintendent of a large 
system of schools should be engrossed in unpro- 
fessional administrative details than the super- 
intendent of a small system. The chief differ- 
ence lies in the amount of work delegated to 
others. There is needed the same professional 



46 



School Organization and Supervision 



Professional 
supervision 
needed for ali 



A business 
manager 
needed in 
cities and 
large towns. 



knowledge to properly direct the work in both 
positions, and the responsibility, though differing 
in amount, does not materially differ in kind. 

With a very small system of schools the 
superintendent personally directs the teachers 
and attends to the few needed matters of busi- 
ness. In a small city system he should have 
the aid of a clerk to attend to business details, 
and supervising princpals and special teachers 
to whom he can delegate certain supervisory 
duties. In a larger system he should, in addi- 
tion to these helpers, have one or more assistant 
superintendents to whose charge certain grades 
or kinds of work should be committed. In all 
these relations the superintendent ought to have 
a clear professional policy, and see that it is car- 
ried out. It is believed, therefore, that the func- 
tions here defined might well be exercised by 
superintendents in any system of schools. 
They at least may serve as a basis or guide for 
that division of functions and responsibilities 
between a school board and the superintendent 
which is necessary to harmonious relations and 
the most effective service. 

Business manager. — As has been said, the 
superintendent in rural towns may to a limited 
extent attend to small matters of business, such 
as buying and distributing needed school sup- 
plies and looking after the care ot the buildings. 
In such towns also the school board may very 
properly put certain local matters of business, like 
attending to repairs and furnishing supplies, 
into the hands of individual members; but in 



City and Town Administration of Schools 47 

the cities and larger towns these and other busi- 
ness matters should be performed by a responsi- 
ble person known as agent or business manager. 
The duties assigned should not be such as will 
in any degree conflict with the duties of other 
officials or in any way defer giving attention to 
immediate needs. Among the duties belonging 
to such an official might be 

(1) attending to all needed repairs of buildings 

(2) purchasing, distributing and caring for all 
books, apparatus and other supplies furnished 
for the use of the schools 

(3) keeping all necessary accounts 

(4) supervising and directing the work of jani- 
tors 

(5) preparing the pay-rolls of all persons regu- 
larly employed by the board 

(6) attending to all matters relating to the tui- 
tion of out of town pupils 

(7) taking the school census required by law. 

Some of these duties will be performed under 
the direction of the superintendent, some under 
the direction of sub-committees, and some under 
the direction of the board itself. The business 
manager should however have a large measure 
of freedom given to him, and be held responsible 
for results only. 

Attendance officers. — The election by the board 
of one or more attendance officers ought to be 
required by law, to see that the school attend- 
ance laws of the state are properly observed, 
and to encourage in all possible ways regular 
and punctual school attendance. 



48 School Organization and Supervision 



The rules gov- 
erning the du- 
ties of attend- 
ance oflQcers. 



The rules governing their duties should be 
brief and explicit. The following rules will per- 
haps meet the needs of cities and large towns.* 
In small towns the rules may be less elaborate. 

1. Annually at a meeting in June the board 
shall elect the attendance officers and fix their 
salaries. 

2. They shall devote as much of their time 
as is needed to the duties of their office,^ and 
shall enforce all ordinances and laws in relation 
to truant children, absentees from school, and 
such children as persistently disobey the rules 
of the school. 

3. They shall visit such schools as the superin- 
tendent may designate at least once a day, and 
upon request of a teacher duly made upon cards 
provided for the purpose and countersigned by 
the principal they shall investigate the absence 
of any child thought to be a truant and take 
such action as they may think proper. 

4. It shall be the duty of attendance officers 
to co-operate with the superintendent and teach- 
ers in their efforts to secure a regular and 
punctual attendance of the pupils at school, by 
frequent visitations in the homes of pupils most 
inclined to disobey the laws relating to school 
attendance. 

5. They shall visit and inspect each month 
while the schools are in session all factories, 

^ In some places only one of the attendance 
officers needs to give his full time to the duties 
of his office, the others being called upon only 
as occasion may require. 



City and Town Administration of Schools 49 

workshops, and mercantile establishments in 
their respective districts, and ascertain if there 
is any violation of the public statutes relating 
to the employment of children therein."^ 

6. They shall keep a record of all cases of 
truancy and other violations of the public stat- 
utes relating to school attendance, showing the 
name, age, and residence of the offender, and 
the nature of his offence. They shall make a 
monthly report in writing to the superintendent. 

Medical inspectors. — Experience has shown the 
value of the service of a close inspection of the 
schools with the view not only of detecting the 
symptoms of contagious diseases and thus of 
preventing their spread, but also of preserving The duties of 
conditions of health. At a comparatively small medical mspec- 

T . . , tors. 

expense one or more physicians may be ap- 
pointed by either the school board or the board of 
health, whose duty it will be to call each morn- 
ing at the school to see if there are any pupils 
who in the estimation of the teacher should be 
examined with reference to determining whether 
they are too unwell to remain in school. Pupils 
sent home on account of ill health may be given 
a properly filled blank stating the reason of the 
physician's action and his recommendation. f 

* This rule is suggested as suitable for all 
states which require certificates of school at- 
tendance to be given for children up to a certain 
age. The rule may be equally needed in states 
which forbid children of a certain age to work 
in any of the establishments named. 

fThe examiner's recommendation should re- 
fer simply to the need of consulting the family 



50 School Organization and Supervision 



Order of busi- 
ness in meet- 
ings of the 
board. 



If the presence of a contagious disease is 
suspected, attention may at once be given to it 
by the board of health, so as to prevent its 
spreading. In case of serious trouble with the 
sight or hearing of a pupil, advice to the parent 
may be given, or action which will help to re- 
move the trouble may be taken by the teacher 
under the direction of the inspector. 

In a large graded school system one inspector 
will be needed for two or three buildings having 
from twenty to forty teachers. In country 
towns the difficulties of adequate inspection are 
greater than in cities and large towns, but they 
are not so great as to prevent the carrying out 
of a modified plan by which each school may 
have from the inspector one or two visits a week. 
Some of the details of medical inspection as car- 
ried on in various places of this country are given 
in Appendix F. 

Meetings of the board. — From what has been 
said, it will be seen that most of the duties of 
the school board are performed in its legislative 
capacity at regularly called meetings. The des- 
patch and efficiency of its action will depend 
in a large degree upon the order of business, and 
the rules governing the discussion of matters 
presented. The following order of business is 
suggested as a good one to follow. It will be 
seen that the most important matters are as- 

physician. No treatment should be recom- 
mended or any statement be made that might 
lead to a misunderstanding of the examiner's 
motive. 



City and Town Administration of Schools 51 

signed first, upon the theory that such matters 
will receive the most attention. 

1. Reading the minutes of the last meeting. 

2. Report of the superintendent.* 

3. Action upon the recommendations of the 
superintendent. 

4. Reports of standing committees and action 
thereon. 

5. Reports of special committees and action 
thereon. 

6. Unfinished business. 

7. New business. 

* This report will include a report of what has 
occurred since the last meeting or of existing 
conditions, together with suggestions and recom- 
mendations for action of the board. 



CHAPTER V 

DISTRICT AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATION OF 
SCHOOLS 

Thus far in the discussion of local school ad- 
ministration the presupposed conditions have 
Difference in been those of urban communities. It should 
the conditions j^q^ ]jq forgotten that a large proportion of the 

of school main- i i n < i , • j • t -, 

tenance schools ot the countrj are mamtamed under 

conditions quite different from those which are 
found in cities and large towns, and that parts 
of the organization of the two classes of schools 
must be somewhat differently adjusted. It is 
important however that the principles of ad- 
ministration already defined shall be applied as 
far as possible to all classes of schools. These 
principles are : 

(a) separation of the schools from politics 

(6) a well balanced adjustment of centralized 
and local authority 

(c) a large degree of dependence upon local 
financial support 

{d) a separation of professional and business 
functions in administration.'^'"^ "^^ 

To meet the needs of the smaller rural towns, 
laws should be passed enabling towns to combine 
in districts for purposes of supervision. By this 
plan a union of two or more towns may be 
formed, with such provision for the support of 
a superintendent of schools as will be needed to 

52 



District and County Administration of Schools 53 

insure local interest and effort on the one hand 

and efficiency of supervision on the other. Such . ^^^ ^^ ^^^*" 

*^ . ^ ing the country 

a plan will not interfere with the proposed or- towns for pur- 
ganization of local school boards, which will have poses of school 
the general charge and supervision of the schools ^^P^^^^^^o^- 
in their respective towns. The members of all 
the boards included in the supervisory district or 
delegates representing them will meet when 
necessary for the purpose of electing a superin- 
tendent, of apportioning his time for the towns, 
and of fixing his salary.* 

The superintendent will be subject to the 
board of each town in which he is employed. 
For example if, in a district of three towns, the 
superintendent is expected to serve in the town 
of A two-fifths of his time, he will spend two 
days a week in that town and while there will 
act under the rules of the school board of A, 
subject of course to such general statutory pro- 
visions as govern the duties of a superintendent. 
In the towns of B and C his time and duties 
will be controlled in the same way. His general 
plan of supervision, including the making of a 
course of studies, inspection of schools, and the 
conducting of teachers' meetings, may be largely 
the same in all the towns, but each town board 

* After a probationary period the tenure of the 
superintendent's office like that of the teacher 
should be permanent. 

For obvious reasons a minimum salary for 
the superintendent should be fixed by law, and 
should be large enough to attract to the office the 
best teachers. 



54 School Organization and Supervision 

will have its separate organization and deter- 
mine its own administrative policy. 

There should be prescribed by law a maximum 
and a minimum number of schools in a district. 
Experience shows that, in country districts 
where distances between the schools are great 
and where a good proportion of the teachers are 
untrained, there should not be over fifty schools 
or teachers under one superintendent. The 
minimum limit might be placed at twenty-five 
or thirty. If the conditions are such as to in- 
sure the employment of trained and skilled 
teachers, the maximum and minimum limits 
may be considerably greater.^ 

In states where the support of schools is 
chiefly local, it may be necessary for towns to 
receive aid from the state in bearing the expense 
of this form of supervision ; but such aid should 
depend upon the sustained effort of the towns 
themselves. It might be a wise provision of the 
law to oblige towns to provide for the payment 
of one- half of the superintendept's salary, with 
the further provision that the amount raised for 

* In the country districts of Germany and 
France the number of teachers for each super- 
visor is much greater than the number indicated 
above. The successful maintenance of large 
supervisory districts in these countries is due 
partly to the fact that the teachers are well 
trained and do not need the supervision required 
for untrained teachers. The same may be said 
of Austria and Switzerland. In New York the 
commissioner of education, Dr. Andrew S. Dra- 
per, has recently recommended the substitution 
of a system like that here outlined. 



District and County Administration of Schools 55 

each school by local taxation be kept up to the 
average of the preceding three years.* 

In any plan of district supervision regulated 
l)y law and supported in part by the state, pro- 
vision should be made for the election of com- 
petent persons to the office of superintendent. 
If the selection is left to the towns without any 
restrictions whatever, mistakes are are likely to 
to be made, for in some of the districts there 
may be either a degree of indifference as to the 
competcDce of the person employed or ignorance 
as to the qualifications which ought to be 
demanded in a superintendent. In the plan of 
supervision here outlined for country towns it 
might be well either to establish by law a mini- 
mum of qualifications for the superintendent or 
to place certain restrictions upon the local board. 
Perhaps as effective a way as any to reach the 
desired end would be to limit the selection of 
superintendents supported in part by the state 
to candidates approved by the state board of 
education.! 

The above plan can be carried out only where 
the town or township is made the unit of gov- 
ernment. In most parts of this country the 
county has been made the unit for purposes of 

* For a detailed statement of the practical 
working of this plan of supervision, see Ap- 
pendix B. 

t For some reference to the eligibility of dis- 
trict and county superintendents see pp. 26, 27. 
See also Dexter's History of Education in the 
United States, p. 198, and Draper's Supervision 
of Country Schools. 



56 School Organization and Supervision 



Prevailing 
methods of 
county super- 
Tision ineffec- 
tive. 



A plan of 
county super 
vision sug- 
gested. 



school administration, largely by reason of the 
fact that in those sections the county is the 
dominant political unit. Apart from ease in 
the adoption of means already employed for 
other purposes, there is little to be said in favor 
of prevailing plans of county school administra- 
tion. In the degree of local educational interest 
and effort and in the efficiency of school super- 
vision the county plan is far inferior to that of 
the city or town. There is no good reason how- 
ever why, with some modification of the present 
county organization, there cannot be enjoyed 
the same privileges as are now enjoyed in sepa- 
rate municipalities. The following plan is sug- 
gested as a basis of county organization for an 
effective administration of schools. 

Let the county elect a single board consisting 
of a sufficiently large number of members to 
represent all parts of the county. The number 
of members constituting the board may be a 
multiple of three, so that the term of office may 
be three years, one-third of the membership ex- 
piring every year. The powers and duties of 
the board may be essentially the same as those 
which have been defined for municipal boards, 
with the possible difference of some increased 
powers for members of the county board in re- 
spect to the external affairs of the schools in their 
immediate neighborhood. The size of the county 
and the difficulty of travel will make it incon- 
venient to have frequent meetings of the board, 
and therefore certain duties usually performed 



District and County Administration of Schools 57 

by a municipal board or by a sub -committee may 
fall upon individual members. 

The board will elect a superintendent of 
schools, who will have the same powers and 
duties as have been defined for city and town 
superintendents. If the county is large he 
ought to have one or more assistants. Fifty 
rural school rooms or one hundred city or village 
rooms are as many as one person should be ex- 
pected to supervise, unless, as in large cities, 
there are supervising principals ; in which case 
two or three hundred schools might be in charge 
of one supervisor. 

The support of all the schools of the county 
except that which is afforded by the state will 
be by taxation. The money raised will be dis- 
tributed by the county board to the various 
schools according to their conditions and needs. 
It is understood that the proposed plan applies 
alike to those counties which have cities and large 
towns in them and to those which have only a 
sparsely settled population. Wealthy centres 
should assist in the support of schools situated 
in sections not able to raise by taxation a sum 
needed for maintaining good schools. 

The plan above outlined is essentially the 
same as that which is followed in several coun- 
ties of the South and West.* As will be seen 
it involves an organization quite simple in char- 
acter, one that can be easily introduced in place 

* For a detailed account of the working of 
this plan in one of the counties of Georgia. 
See Appendix B. 



58 School Organization and Supervision 

of the present prevailing plan. It is generally 
best in effecting reforms to build upon existing 
practices, but in many of the county systems 
a reorganization upon new lines will be neces- 
sary, so far at least as to make the superintend- 
ent a professional rather than a political official. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE SUPERINTENDENT AS ORGANIZER 

In general the duties of a superintendent of 
schools may be divided into two classes, those 
of an organizer and those of a supervisor. His 
duties as organizer require him to get and to 
keep all parts of the school system in good 
working order. The parts in relation to the 
direct work of the schools are the school build- 
ings and furnishings; the departments, grades, 
subjects of study and times; the school board, 
superintendent, teachers, and janitors. These 
parts of the school system are to be so adjusted 
in relation to one another that the ends for 
which the schools are organized may be most 
effectively attained. 

The subjects of school organization to be con- 
sidered somewhat in detail are : 

(1) the construction and furnishing of school 
buildings 

.rs-. 1 1 1 1 - -, Tj- -IT school organ- 

(2) school attenaance and gradation, including ization to be 
(a) age of admission (b) length of course considered. 

(3) course of studies, including (a) subjects 
of instruction (b) elective studies (c) correlation 
of studies (d) time limits (e) making of school 
programme 

(4) classification and promotion of pupils 

(5) departmental instruction 

(6) special school classes 

59 



Features of 



60 



School Organization and Supervision 



School build- 
ings and their 
equipment. 



(7) the qualifications and appointment of 
teachers 

(8) text-books and supphes. 

Some of the above mentioned features of 
school organization are controlled wholly by the 
superintendent and some are made the subject 
only of advice on his part; but whatever his 
relation to them may be, it is necessary for him 
to have as full knowledge as possible of their 
nature and use, both in theory and in practice. 

The construction and furnishing of school build- 
ings. — If the relation of the superintendent to 
the external conditions of the schools is as 
close and responsible as is assumed in Chapter 
IV, it follows that he should have a definite 
knowledge of what is most desired for health 
and convenience in the way of buildings and 
their equipment. Of course in respect both to 
ideals and to the method of securing them he will 
be guided by circumstances. What will be suit- 
able and desirable in one place will be altogether 
impracticable in another. But in all places the 
superintendent should remember that providing 
the material means of carrying on the schools 
is not his chief business, and must not monopo- 
lize his time. He should in the planning and 
construction of school buildings give prompt as- 
sistance to building committees, and in the fur- 
nishing of equipment of every kind he should 
do all in his power to provide an ample supply. 

In the construction of school buildings three 
considerations should be kept constantly in mind : 

(a) health of teachers and pupils 



The Superintendent as Organizer 61 

(b) convenience in carrying on the work of the 
schools 

(c) economy. 

Emphasis is placed here upon the first two of 
these considerations in the belief that building 
committees look to the superintendent mainly 
for assistance in these directions. 

Whenever it is possible to do so, an architect 
should be employed to draught plans and oversee An architect 
the work of construction of school buildings, needed. 
One who makes a careful study of school archi- 
tecture is likely to provide all that health, con- 
venience, and good taste demand, to a far greater 
degree of satisfaction than a carpenter or a 
building committee can provide without such 
help.^ 

School buildings should in no case be more 
than three stories high. In the country they ^f^^*,^^., , 

o ■, 1 1 ■ * school build- 

should consist of but one or two stories. A i^gg 

cellar should be under the entire building, and 

be thoroughly ventilated. It should be cemented 

throughout, and be so arranged that it may be 

used in cold and stormy weather for boys' and 

girls' playrooms. 

The lower floor of the building should be not ^ ^ 

. 1 /. P ji Construction 

less than 18 inches above the surface of the of floors and 
lot, and the walls should contain vertical air ceilings. 
chambers. The floors of the schoolroom should 

^ In Massachusetts, plans and specifications of 
proposed school buildings must be approved by 
an inspector of factories and public buildings. 
The same official is also required by law to inspect 
school buildings, with authority to correct ex- 
isting defects of sanitation. 



62 



School Organization and Supervision 



Size of school 
room. 



Furniture and 
furnishings. 



be of hard- wood, kiln dried boards not over four 
or five inches wide, fitted so close as to permit 
no cracks in which dirt can settle. The floors 
should be so built as to permit the least possible 
vibration and transmission of sounds. Double 
floors with heavy building paper or mineral wool 
between them will help to accomplish the desired 
end.* 

The schoolrooms should be large enough to 
allow enough single desks to be placed in them 
to accommodate the largest number of pupils 
likely to be in attendance, and to give space for 
recitation seats and extra tables. They should 
be large enough also for games and gymnastic 
exercises, especially if there is no gymnasium or 
playroom in the building, f 

The furniture and furnishings of schoolrooms 
should be such as are needed for convenience 
and efficiency. Besides desks and seats of suit- 
able construction the following articles should 
be provided for every schoolroom ; teacher's desk 
having several drawers, book-case, chairs for 
teacher and visitors, one or more tables, crayons, 
erasers, pointers, clock, bell, thermometer, broom, 
ink-filler, dustpan, dusters (soft pieces of cloth 
are the best dusters), waste-basket, suitable wall 

* Floors consisting of narrow boards or blocks 
of wood in cement have been found very satis- 
factory. They are described in Burgenstein's 
Handbuch der Schulhygiene, Jena, 1895, See 
also Kotelmann's School Hygiene, Syracuse, 
1899, pp. 95-100. 

t Other features of schoolhouse construction 
are given in Appendix F. 



Kind and 



The Superintendent as Organizer 63 

pictures, and (if there is no dressing-room) toilet 
appliances. Some schoolrooms should have in 
addition to the above-named articles a moulding- 
table, and a piano or organ. 

The kind and amount of apparatus used in 
teachins; indicate in no small degree the charac- 

^ . amount of ap- 

ter of work done. It is not always desirable to paratus 
purchase apparatus w^hich is the most costly, needed. 
Indeed much of the most valuable apparatus 
used may be made or gathered by the teachers 
and pupils, especially that which is needed in 
the observation lessons. Charts of any kind 
can be made of thick manilla paper, marked 
with artist's crayon or with a rubber pen. The 
following list comprises the minimum amount 
which should be found in every primary school- 
room, or at least which should be accessible to 
every teacher. 

Blocks, splints, and shoe-pegs for number and 
^^ busy work"; measures (dry, liquid, linear, 
metric); balance; toy money; globe; wall maps; 
charts for number, reading, writing, anatomy, 
and music; numeral frame; drawing models, 
and compasses; toys and other objects for read- 
ing; forms for mensuration; pictures for lan- 
guage, geography, and history; cardboard for 
number, language, etc. ; colored worsted ; col- 
ored cardboard for form and number; plants; 
minerals; mounted insects; pen-holders, and 
pens, lead-pencils, and paper of various kinds; 
ruler. 

If slates are used (paper is better), good slates, 
sharpened pencils, sponges and coarse files should 



64 



School Organization and Supervision 



Duration of 
school course 
in America. 



Practice in 
England. 



be provided. Among the materials for '^ busy 
work ' ' may be mentioned paper for folding and 
weaving, sticks and splints for laying, forms of 
animals and other objects for tracing, letters for 
making words, words for making sentences, 
designs upon cardboard for drawing. 

It will be seen that the above list does not 
comprise some of the means of teaching physi- 
ology and other observation lessons which may 
be gathered from day to day, such as flowers, 
leaves, and plants. Neither does the list include 
the little devices used for illustrating the men- 
suration of boxes, walls, etc., nor any of the 
tools and materials used for the industrial work 
carried on in all the grades. 

School attendance and gradation. — Practice 
varies in America as to the earliest age of admit- 
ting children into the school and also as to the 
length of the course. 

In most places where the earliest age of admis- 
sion is 6 years, the length of the elementary 
course is 8 years, and where the earliest age is 5 
years, the course is generally 9 years in length. 
Exceptions to this are found in towns and cities 
whose elementary course is 8 years in length for 
pupils who are permitted to enter school at 5 
years of age. It should be said that in all places 
where the earliest permitted age of admission is 
5 years, the actual average age of the admission 
of pupils into the lowest grade is much higher. 

In the pubhc elementary schools of England 
children may begin at 3 years of age and must 
begin at 5, remaining in the infants' school un- 



The Superintendent as Organizer 65 

til the age of 7. The length of the subsequent 
course is 7 years. 

In France and Germany the earliest age of ad- ^ . . 

•^ . ^ Practice in 

mission to the primary school is 6 years, and the France and 
length of the elementary course is from 6 to 8 Germany, 
years. In France, however, nearly half of all 
the children from 2 to 6 years of age are en- 
rolled in the mother schools {ecoles maternelles), 
or lower primary classes (classes enfantines). 
Many cities of Germany and of this country 
also provide for children under the age of 6 in 
the public kindergarten. 

It is possible that the differences in this coun- 
try in the earliest age of admission to the ele- 
mentary schools and in the length of the course 
of such schools will disappear when the kinder- 
garten becomes universally a part of the public 
school system. It may be fairly questioned, 

1 . J. 1 i-i 1 £ J.1 A^ sub-primary 

however, m any event, whether much or the course advis 
formal intellectual work now carried on in many able. 
first year primary classes should be demanded of 
children before the age of 6. If, where chil- 
dren are permitted to enter school at 5, a sub- 
primary course could be pursued, consisting 
largely of manual and observation exercises, 
advancement in subsequent work would be 
likely to be quite as rapid as it is at present 
where pupils are required to read and write 
much during the first year. In case there is a 
kindergarten course which children can begin at 
3 or 4 years of age^ the work of the sub-primary 
class could be supplementary to the work of the 
kindergarten and be preparatory for the more 



66 School Organization and Supervision 

formal work of the primary school. According 
to many of our best kindergartners and primary 
school teachers some connection between the two 
schools is very much to be desired. Further de- 
tails of the proposed plan vvill be given later in 
connection with the course of studies. 

Whether the kindergarten or sub-primary 
Children not courses are offered or not, it is doubtful if pupils 
to begin formal should begin regular formal school work under 

six years of ^^^ ^S® ^^ ^' ^^^^^ ^^^ work pursued in the 
age. sub-primary class should be closely connected 

with the course pursued in the following year 
and be a preparation for that course, it should 
not be a necessary preparation. That is, pupils 
of 6 years of age and upwards who have never 
attended school should enter the lowest grade of 
the primary school without taking the prepara- 
tory work of the sub-primary class. The pres- 
ent classification in most places obliges pupils of 
all ages who have not attended school to begin 
the primary reading and number work together. 
Such work is found as discouragingly hard to 
some as it is demoralizingly easy to others. 

If the regular elementary school work begins 
Elementary for children of 6 years of age, it should be no 
course to cover j^^j.^ than caii be easily performed in 8 years by 
average pupils. Some of the pupils will be able 
to finish the course in 6 or 7 years, enabling 
them to be ready for the high school at 12 or 13 
years of age. But as these, instances of early 
preparation are offset by instances of late en- 
trance upon the elementary school course, the 



The Superintendent as Organizer 67 

average age of graduation from that course is 
not likely to be less than 14 years. 

On some accounts it will be found convenient ^, ,. . . 

1 he division 

to separate the elementary school pupils into une between 
primary and grammar grades. The division primary and 
line between these two kinds of schools varies in s^^™^^ 
present practice, some of the primary schools 
covering 2 years' v/ork, others covering the 
work of 3 and 4 years. 

One natural and well recognized method of dis- 
tinguishing the grammar school course from the 
primary is on lines of proficiency in what may be 
called the mechanics of the two sequential sub- 
jects of reading and arithmetic. As soon as the 
pupils are able to read at sight any ordinary sec- 
ond reader and to work with a fair degree of facil- 
ity in the four fundamental rules of arithmetic, • 
they ought to be ready for some formal study in 
geography and other information subjects. This 
division line might be placed at the end of three 
years, although doubtless many pupils could 
reach it at the end of two years. By such an ar- 
rangement the course would be arranged as fol- 
lows : primary school 3 years, grammar school 5 
years, and high school 4 years. There are good 
reasons for dividing the entire course into three 
equal parts, giving four years to the primary 
school, four years to the grammar school, and 
four years to the high school. Again, much can 
be said in favor of dividing the course of 12 
years into tw^o parts and of considering the high 
school work to cover 6 years. 

The subject of length of grades will be consid- 



68 



School Organization and Supervision 



A course of 
studies advis- 
able. 



The course 
should not be 
too minute. 



ered later under the head of Classification and 
Promotion of Pupils. 

Course of studies. — There is some danger of 
exaggerating the importance of a course of 
studies. As men can not be made good by any 
amount of legislation, so the work of teachers 
can not be made effective by the mere directions 
of a course of studies — be they ever so wise. 
There are good schools with poor courses of 
studies or even with no courses at all, just as 
there are poor schools with very excellent courses. 

But while the teacher always and everywhere 
makes the school, the advisability of placing be- 
fore him a guide as to subjects and times can not 
be questioned. It is better however for the 
superintendent not to make a too radical change 
in the course at first and not to make any course 
before the school conditions are well understood. 
Either the general outline of the state course or 
the existing local course may for a time at least 
be used as a basis of work, supplemented by di- 
rections and suggestions whi^h may be given 
either by special written bulletins or at the regu- 
lar monthly or bi-monthly teachers' meetings. 
If circumstances permit it will be advisable to 
limit the positive directions of the course to a 
statement of the subjects in general that should 
be taken up in given periods. 

Certainly it is not wise to put before the teach- 
ers a detailed statement of all they are expected 
to accomplish during fixed periods of time. 
Some courses even go so far as to point out the 
exact pages of the text books which are to be 



The Superintendent as Organizer 69 

gone over in a given period, the presumption be- 
ing that the topics included in those pages will 
constitute the entire work of all the pupils. 
Such courses are made upon the assumption that 
every pupil will accomplish as much as every 
other pupil and no more. The leveling system 
is complete where examinations for promotions 
based upon these requirements are given by some 
one other than the teacher. 

The course of studies should aid the teacher in 
adapting the instruction to individual pupils ; and Obstacles to 
it will do so best by giving to teachers a large ^^^^ teacher's 
measure of freedom in the selection of material. 
The excessively large number of pupils to a teach- 
er found in most schools renders it impossible to 
accomplish the results of adaptation in any 
degree satisfactory to the best teachers. The 
brighter and quicker pupils as well as the duller 
and slower ones, are not reached in the way they 
should be reached. The present customary 
plan of keeping together for long periods all 
the pupils of a large class upon the same kind 
of work is harmful alike to the quicker and 
to the slower pupils ; to the former in the undue 
suppression and lack of stimulation to healthful 
effort, and to the latter in discouragement and 
superficialness. 

A course of studies is intended as a guide in 
determining 

(a) the subjects of instruction that shall be characteristics 

\ ' "f of a course of 

pursued studies. 

(b) the time — both relative and absolute — 
which shall be given to the various subjects 



ro 



School Organization and Supervision 



Two theories 
of an element- 
ary school 
course. 



(c) the order in which the subjects and parts 
of subjects shall be presented and reviewed 

(d) the distribution of subjects that shall be 
made in the programme in respect both to a 
proper correlation of studies and to the teaching 
force of the school. 

Subjects of instruction. — Two widely opposing 
theories prevail respecting the number and kind 
of subjects to be taught in the elementary 
schools. Some would have the curriculum con- 
fined to a few subjects, scarcely more than the 
three E's; others advise the extension of the 
course so as to include many subjects which are 
sometimes begun in the high school. The advo- 
cates of a limited programme urge the necessity 
of thoroughness in the branches studied, partly 
it may be supposed on account of the mental 
habit formed. They also plead for what are 
called essential subjects, presumably because 
these subjects are deemed more practical than 
others. Those who believe in the extended 
courses say that the nature of young children 
will not permit an exhaustive study of any one 
branch, but that it demands studir^s which will 
yield a large number of facts relating to many 
subjects. In this way, they argue, the mind is 
made to have a substantial basis for subsequent 
study and for a many-sided interest which is 
essential to ^ood scholarship and 



intelligent 



living. 

There is wisdom in both of these views and 
the selection of studies should be made with 
both views in mind. That the curriculum of 



The Superintendent as Organizer 71 

the elementary schools should include the sub- 

iects ordinarily pursued in such schools is beyond ^ ^ essentia s 

•^ "^ -^ -^ of a good 

question. These include reading, writing, Ian- course, 
guage, arithmetic, geography, history, and 
grammar. Other subjects — drawing, singing, 
physiology, and elementary science — are coming 
to be reckoned among the essentials of a good 
course. In many states these subjects are pur- 
sued in a majority of the schools, and in some of 
the states they are required by law to be taught. Doubtful sub- 
The only remaining subjects the wisdom of whose Jects for gram- 

-,,.".,, , . • •j.i J • J mar schools. 

adoption m the elementary course is either denied 
or doubted by a large number of educators are 
algebra, geometry, industrial training, and a 
foreign language. 

There are two avenues of approach to the set- 
tlement of all mooted questions, the avenue of ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ 

^u-1 u ^4-u^^ • determining 

reason and philosophy, and that or experience, ^j^^^ subiects 
We can point to each of the doubtful subjects should be 
of study and ask from the standpoint of culture offered. 
and discipline or of direct use in life why it 
ought to have a place in the course of studies ; or 
we can appeal to the experience of thoughtful 
people who have practically tested the value of 
each of the subjects taught. It would not be 
difficult to show the reasonableness of including 
algebra and geometry in the grammar school 
programme, both on account of their practical 
value as aids in the solution of every day prob- 
lems, and by reason of their use as a means of 
mental discipline. The same may be said of a ^rrammar 
foreign language. The increased power which school curricu- 
one possesses in an ability to read and speak in ^^^^ discussed. 



Y2 



School Organization and Supervison 



a language other than one's own is undoubted. 
And when we see how readily a foreign language 
is learned during the period of childhood and 
early youth, it seems an inexcusable neglect not to 
provide the opportunity for its study in the gram- 
mar school. There remains but one of the doubt- 
ful subjects to be considered and that is indus- 
trial training. If it is true that education should 
prepare for vocational as well as for social and 
civil life, and if it is true also that in the train- 
ing of the hand there is a training of the intel- 
lect and the will, we must conclude that hand 
training of some kind should have a place in all 
grades of the elementary school. 

So much for theory. What shall we say of 
the result of practice in teaching these subjects 
in elementary grades ? In many of the private 
Results of ex- schools of this country some of the doubtful 
subjects named are taught to pupils of grammar 
school age. The fact that this practice has pre- 
vailed for many years is in itself evidence of its 
value. It is said in justification of making a 
difference of programmes in private and public 
schools that the patrons of private schools are 
from a more cultured class than are those of the 
public schools, and that therefore the higher 
studies may be begun earlier. It may be said 
in reply that in this country there should be no 
recognition of a difference of classes in the estab- 
lishment of a system of public education. What 
is good for the so-called " upper class " must be 
good for all classes and all should have as far as 
possible an equal chance. 



perience m pri 
vate schools. 



The Superintendent as Organizer 73 

Again it is said that the number of pupils to 
a teacher in private schools is comparatively choice of sub- 
small and that hence the conditions there are jects not to de- 
more favorable to the pursuit of an extended p^^^ ^p°^ 

, , . J 1 IT 1 1 m 1 J 1 size of classes. 

course than m the public schools. Surely the 
wisdom of a choice of studies at a given time 
should not depend upon the size of classes. 
If constructive geometry, for example, is a 
profitable study for a class of three pupils 
of a given age, it ought to be profitable for a 
class of thirty of the same age. Besides it is 
to be hoped that the number of pupils to a 
teacher in the public schools will in the future 
be nearer the standard set by the best private 
schools than it is at present. 

But experience with an extended curriculum is 
not confined to private schools. It is well- 
known that a large number of grammar schools 
throughout the country include in their subiects 

® ♦^ -^ perience in 

of study geometry, algebra, and a foreign Ian- public schools. 

guage. The testimony of persons best qualified 

to judge the results of this experience seems to 

be convincing, so far at least as the usefulness 

and desirability of including some subjects in 

the curriculum of elementary schools which have 

hitherto been begun in the high school.* 

How far such extension of the elementary 
school curriculum should be carried will depend 
largely upon the way in which the subjects are 
taught or in what aspects the various sub- 

* For detailed testimony respecting the value 
of an extended curriculum for elementary schools 
see Appendix G. 



74 School Organization and Supervision 

jects are presented. As we come to know the 
Choice of sub- choices and capacities of pupils, we find that 
jects to depend breadth rather than depth of knowledge is 
upon the way j3eg(je(j ij2 the earlier grades, and that the ele- 
sented. ments of any subject may fittingly be presented 

to young children. But the mistake must not 
be made of anticipating the child's mental 
growth by presenting as a science or as philoso- 
phy what ought to be matters of observation or 
fact. The present sharp division line between 
the grammar school course and the high school 
course may be eliminated by an extension of the 
high school studies into the lower grades, but 
the existing difiiculty will be greatly enhanced 
if these studies are brought down in their pres- 
ent form. Such an extension of studies instead 
of enrichment would be impoverishment and 
waste. 

Again, in choosing subjects of instruction for 

the elementary school course, the difficulty of a 

How the diffi- multiplicity of studies must not be overlooked. 

culties of mul- ^^ ij.- i?i-ij ^ • j. -i-i 

tipiicitv are to ^^ ^^ ^ correlation or kmdred subjects, either 
be met. in the course of studies or in the teaching, can 

help to meet the difficulty it should be made 
And finally, the immediate as well as ultimate 
and general needs of the children should be met 
so far as circumstances will permit. While it 
is true that the education of children and youth 
should be rounded off at every stage, and that 
what is proper preparation for a higher grade of 
instruction should be a proper preparation for 
life, it is also true that a differentiation of studies 
somewhere in the course, according to the tastes 



The Superintendent as Organizer 75 

and needs of pupils, may be highly desirable 
whenever it can be done without detriment to 
the best interests of the schools. 

With these limitations and with the condition 
that good teachers are employed, it is safe to say Proper sub- 
that all of the hitherto mentioned studies, in- ^^^ ^ o a 

' grammar 

eluding algebra, geometry, industrial training, school course. 
and one foreign language should have a place in 
the grammar school curriculum. 

Acknowledging that some stud}^ of a foreign 
language is desirable in the grammar school, we 
may be at some loss to determine which lan- 
guage it shall be. Doubtless the selection in 
some instances should depend upon circum- a modern lan- 
stances ; thus in a community where there are a g^^age pre- 
number of French or Spanish speaking people ^^^^ 
one or the other of these languages should be 
taught ; or if there are teachers of Latin close at 
hand and no one that can teach a modern lan- 
guage, Latin will naturally be the language 
taught ; but if there are no local or incidental 
reasons for a choice, there would seem to be 
more good reasons for choosing a modern lan- 
guage than for choosing an ancient one. If the 
study of it is begun early in the grammar school 
course and continued to the end of it, a good 
reading and speaking knowledge of the language 
may be gained, even though it be pursued with 
moderation. 

The subjects offered in high schools are deter- 
mined largely by the demands of the colleges 
and higher technical schools. It is feared that 
too often these demands determine the subjects 



76 



School Organization and Supervision 



College re- 
quirements 
not to domin- 
ate the high 
school course. 



Present plan 
of electives 
in German 
and American 
high schools. 



of study not only of the pupils who intend to 
enter the higher institutions but also of that 
larger class of pupils who pass from the high 
school directly to their life work. It is for this 
reason that the greatest care should be taken 
lest the zeal to conform to college preparatory re- 
quirements force wrong standards upon pupils 
w^hose school life ends with the high school. It 
is the latter class of pupils therefore that must 
be kept specially in mind in making up a high 
school programme. Such studies as physical 
geography, English literature, English composi- 
tion, history, physics, physiology and hygiene 
should receive special attention, or at least be 
offered in liberal measure. Manual or industrial 
training also should have a large place in some 
of the courses of the high school. This empha- 
sis upon important subjects does not preclude 
proper attention to foreign languages, mathe- 
matics, and the various sciences. 

Elective studies. — There has come to be felt in 
this country the necessity of offering a plan of 
studies for high schools in ^vhich the privilege 
of choice is given in the selection of some of the 
subjects of study. In Germany the selection is 
made by schools, each kind of school having a 
fixed curriculum. Here the plan generally 
adopted is that of arranging the studies in 
groups or courses and giving the pupils the privi- 
lege of choosing the course they wish to take. 

In the larger schools there are usually two or 
more electives offered in each course, the number 
of electives increasing year by year. In a few 



The Superintendent as Organizer 77 

schools the practice prevails of giving the privi- 
lege of selection from a v^idely extended list of 
subjects. 

There can be no doubt that some of the sub- 
iects offered in hisih schools should be elective. . 
Many would go further and say that the list of pi^n recom- 
subjects offered should be very extensive and mended. 
that all of the subjects taken by a pupil should 
be elective. Perhaps a medium plan may be 
safely followed of offering a number of courses — 
from two to five, depending upon the size of the 
school; and of permittiug each pupil to select all 
but one or two branches. These required 
branches might be English, including literature 
composition, etc. ; and history. Great care should 
be taken in the selection of subjects. A good 
plan is for advice to be given by the teachers to 
the parents and for cards to be issued asking that 
a selection be indicated by a parent or guardian. 

It has been generally assumed that the sub- 
jects pursued in grades below the high school 
are subjects needed for all pupils, unmindful of 
their expected career, and that therefore such 
subjects should be made obligatory in these 
grades. But the introduction of new studies 
into the grammar school course has brought up 
again the question of carrying the elective sys- 
tem below the high school so far at least as the 
new studies are concerned. 

There seems little question of requiring all the 
pupils below the high school to pursue the ordi- 
nary English branches — reading, writing, arith- 
metic, geography, and history. Algebra, geome- 



78 



School Organization and Supervision 



Required sub- 
jects in gram- 
mar schools. 



A foreign lan- 
guage the onl}'' 
elective in 
grammar 
schools. 



Time limits to 
be determined 
by the needs of 
the pupils. 



try, and book keeping may well be taken with 
arithmetic in the higher grades, or at times be 
required in place of it. To pupils who are not 
going beyond the grammar school algebra and 
geometry may seem a waste of time and energy, 
but in their practical bearings they are equally 
useful to all and hence may properly be included 
in the required subjects. Drawing, singing, and 
industrial training ,have even a stronger claim 
for recognition as required studies than algebra 
and geometry. A foreign language may very 
properly be offered as an elective in place of, or 
in addition to, English grammar. It should how- 
ever be begun early in the course and be carried 
on in such a way as to require little of extra 
study at home. Two or three recitations a week 
in a modern language during the last four or 
five years of the grammar school course will 
give abundant opportunity for pupils of average 
intelligence to acquire the ability to read easy 
reading, to converse in simple speech, and to 
know something of the grammatical construc- 
tion of the languge. 

Time limits. — A determination of the time 
which should be given to the various subjects of 
study is important not merely on account of the 
convenience of classification but chiefly by rea- 
son of the fact that it expresses the relative 
vakie of the studies to the pupils. 

One way of ascertaining a proper standard of 
time hmits is by a consideration of the subjects 
themselves and the needs of pupils for instruc- 
tion in those subjects. If for example it is be- 



The Superintendent as Organizer 79 

lieved that there is httle disciphnary value in 
arithmetic and that the real arithmetical needs 
of graduates of the grammar school are limited 
to a knowledge of the four fundamental rules, 
it is evident that only a small amount of time 
will be given to that subject beyond the third or 
fourth year in school. If, on the other hand, 
both the disciplinary and the practical value of - 
arithmetic is thought to be great, a liberal al- 
lowance of time will be given to the subject 
daily throughout the course. 

From this point of view, we may regulate in 
a general way the time which should be given 
to a subject or group of subjects. For example, 
we know from the nature of the child that ob- 
servational subjects should have a relatively Relative 
large place in the programmes of the primary ^.^^^^. ^ 

^ *^ jr o IT J ^jjj^g given to 

school and of the lower grades of the grammar observational 
school, while the reflective studies should largely and reflective 
predominate in the higher grades of the gram- ^t^^^^^- 
mar school and in the high school. We judge 
also in the same way that the formal studies, 
such as mathematics and language, should not 
monopolize the time of the pupil in any grade, 
or prevent a good degree of attention being given 
to science, history, and literature. 

Looking more closely to the nature and needs 
of the pupils, we may come to a more accurate a large share 
estimate of the relative time to be given to each of time to be 
subject. Upon the theory that so-called disci- f^'^T' ^? ?^^^' 

J t- J ^icai subjects. 

pline of the mind may be gained by means of 

practical subjects and that the practical subjects 

to be pursued are those chiefly which assist in the 



80 



School Organization and Supervision 



Co-ordinate 
groups of sub- 
jects. 



Proportion of 
time to be 
given to each 
group of sub- 
jects. 



preparation for vocational and social service, we 
shall make prominent in the course the studies 
which directly serve those ends. Upon this 
basis, the following groups of subjects would 
seem to have about an equal claim upon the 
time of the school: 

1. Language and literature 

2. Geography and history 

3. Drawing and industrial training 

4. Mathematics and science. 

That is, a five hour school day would be di- 
vided so as to give about 1^ hours to each group of 
subjects named. In this division of time several 
circumstances should be taken into considera- 
tion. In the first place the day's programme 
should be arranged so as to give pupils an op- 
portunity for study. Opportunity also should 
be given for singing and the needed physical and 
recreative exercises. Moreover a varying degree 
of emphasis must be placed upon each branch of 
study as the pupils progress in their course. In 
general therefore it may be said that the daily 
time for recitation in each group of studies 
named above should be more or less than one 
hour, depending upon the age and grade of pupils. 

Upon this basis the proportion of time for each 
group would be about as follows : 

I. Language (including reading, writing, spell- 
ing, composition, English grammar and litera- 
ture, and a foreign language), one fourth. 

II. Mathematics (including arithmetic, alge- 
bra, geometry, and book-keeping) one-eighth. 

III. Elementary science (including nature- 



The Superintendent as Organizer 81 

study, physiology, hygiene, and geography), 
three- sixteenths. 

IV. History (including civil government, biog- 
raphy, and history proper), one-eighth. 

V. Miscellaneous exercises (including singing, 
drawing, industrial training, physical exercises, 
and recesses for games), five- sixteenths. 

The above proportion of time would give an 
average approximate number of minutes weekly , , , ,. 

^ ^^ ^ Actual time for 

to each subject as follows, counting the week each group, 
to consist of 5 days and the day to consist of 5J 
hours : 

I. Reading and literature 150^ 

Writing 60 ^ , , 

Q ir «A ^ Total, 410 

Spellmg 50 ' ' 

Language and grammar 150 

II. Mathematics, (arithmetic, alge- 1 m j. i 

bra, and geometry) 210 / ^^^^^' ^^^ 

III. Geography... 200 | ^otal, 310 

Physiology, ele. science 110 / 

IV. History, civil government, \ t f i 

biography, etc 210 J ^^^^^' ^^^ 

V. Opening exercies, physi- ) 

cal exercises and re- > 150 

cesses ) ! 

Industrial exercises 250 1^ Total, 510 

Singing 50 | 

Drawing 60 J 

The above allotment of time is for all the ex- 
ercises of the school. For example, an average 
of 80 minutes a day will be given to all the 
recitations in the Language group of studies, 40 
minutes to mathematics, and so on. To enable 



82 School Organization and Supervision 



The results of 
experience in 
this country 
and Europe. 



Time for sub- 
jects in the 
sub-primary 
class. 



the pupils to have sufficient time for independent 
study a division of the school in some subjects 
into sections will be necessary, some of the 
classes reciting every day and some only two or 
three times a week. 

A much closer estimate of the time which 
should be given to each subject may be found 
by a careful comparison of times allowed in good 
courses of studies, on the supposition that the 
combined wisdom of many makers of courses 
must be more reliable than the wisdom of any 
one person. An extended inquiry into the prac- 
tices of a large number of the most progressive 
systems of schools in this country and abroad 
has been made the basis of a careful estimate of 
the amount of time which should be given to each 
group of subjects. The estimate in general is 
as follows: 

In the sub-primary class, or connecting class 
between the kindergarten and the first grade 
primary, a larger share of time should be given 
to observation lessons, games, weaving, paper 
cutting, etc., than is given in subsequent grades, 
while a comparatively short time should be 
given to reading, writing, and number, the pro- 
portional allotments for this grade being approxi- 
mately as follows : for physical exercises, games, 
manual training, etc., a little more than one- 
third; for language, including reading, writing 
and composition, a little less than one-third ; for 
number, one-sixteenth; for observation lessons, 
one-fifth, and for story telling and memorizing 
of gems, one- tenth. 



The Superintendent as Organizer 83 

The formal language studies should occupy a 
larger proportion of time in the earlier grades xime for sub- 
of the regular elementary course than in the jects in the 
later grades, while mathematics should have a P^-iJ^^^y ^^^ 
less prominent place in the lower grades than in grades. 
the upper ; the approximate proportion of time 
for formal language exercises being from two- 
fifths to one-fourth, and for mathematics from 
one-eighth to one-fifth. The time allotted to 
elementary science or nature study should be at 
the beginning of the course about one-eighth of 
the entire school time, increasing in amount until 
in the middle grades it is one-fifth of the time, 
and falling off in the last two grades to one-sixth 
and one-eighth of the time. History, including 
literature, biography, civil government, and his- 
tory proper, should occupy about as much time as 
science in the first six grades. In the two upper 
grades about one-fourth of the time should be 
given to the history group. To singing, draw- 
ing, and manual training there should be but 
little difference in the proportion of time given 
in the various grades of the course, the approxi- 
mate proportion of time being from one-fourth 
to one-fifth."^ 

To establish for high schools a theory of limits Difficulty of 
as to the time which should be given to the vari- establishing 
ous subjects of study is even more difficult than ti"ae limits in 
to establish such a theory for elementary schools, ^^ ^^ 
for the reason that the requirements for entrance 
to higher institutions are to be taken into con- 

* For details of the investigation upon which 
these estimates are made see Appendix G. 



84 School Organization and Supervision 

sideration ; and until such requirements are made 
to agree with the requirements of a preparation 
for hfe it will be practically impossible to regu- 
late courses, at least college preparatory courses, 
upon any just basis. 

In all the courses, both required and elective 
studies should be so arranged that the cultural as 
well as the practical needs of the pupils will be 
met. There must also be kept in mind the need 
of providing foundation studies for all technical 
subjects. From an extremely practical point 
of view the studies to be offered in any course 
will be those which contribute directly to the 
future vocation of the pupils taking the course. 
With such a view, the business course will con- 
sist only of business studies such as penmanship 
book-keeping, stenography, and typewriting; 
and a mechanics course will consist only of such 
studies as drawing, wood working, and forging. 
But if we consider as desirable the need of a 
preparation for all the duties of life and also the 
need of a thorough groundwork in a knowledge 
of principles, we see that a technical course should 
be much broader than either of the courses indi- 
cated. 

It seems only reasonable, therefore, that such 
Culture studies culture studies as history and English literature 
to be required g]^Q^j(j have a large and continuous place in an 
course. ideal course, designed for pupils who are fitting 

either for a higher institution or directly for life. 
The same may be said of English language, in- 
cluding composition, grammar, rhetoric, etc. 
Three recitations a week in both history and 



The Superintendent as Organizer 85 

English literature throughout the course and 
two recitations a week in English language would 
seem not too much to require of every pupil. 
Upon the assumption that each full time pupil 
will have 18 recitations a week in addition to 
physical training, singing, etc. , there will be left 
10 recitations a week for optional studies. If 
the selection is made in recognition of the prin- 
ciple of a many-sided interest or a harmonious 
development of the powers, both science and 
mathematics will receive a fair share of atten- 
tion — perhaps 3 recitations a week in each study, 
allowing the remaining 4 periods to be given to ^atics and lan- 
a foreign language. If it seems desirable to guage in the 
offer a second foreign language for 2 or 3 years, ^^s^ school. 
time could be found for it either by increasing 
the number of recitations per week or by drop- 
ping one of the other studies.* 

Grades and courses. — Upon the assumption 
that the kindergarten and connecting or sub- 
primary classes are made a part of the school 
system the courses will be as follows : 

1. Kindergarten course of one year for chil- 

, . n The various 

dren4yearsof age. courses and 

2. Sub-primary course of one year for chil- time for each. 
dren 5 years of age. 

3. Primary school course of two years to be 
begun by children 6 years of age. 

4. Grammar school course of 6 years for pu- 
pils who have completed work required for the 
primary course. 

*For brief outlines of high school courses 
adapted to various conditions, see Appendix H. 



86 



School Organization and Supervision 



Age of gradu- 
ation. 



Quality and 
not quantity to 
be emphasized. 



Some teachers 
to have a large 
degree of free- 
dom. 



5. One or more high school courses of 4 years 
for pupils who have completed the work required 
for the grammar school course. 

If the above plan is closely followed and if 
promotions from grade to grade are uniformly 
made, all the pupils will graduate from the high- 
est course at the age of 18. If, however, the 
subjects of study are properly selected and ar- 
ranged and if the plan of promotions is as elas- 
tic as it should be, the age at which the pupils 
will leave the high school will range from 16 to 
20 years and the training provided in this school 
will be a good preparation either for college or 
for the ordinary duties of life. 

It is well known that the tendency of unwise 
and unskilled teachers is to emphasize the quan- 
titative rather than the qualitative side of their 
work ; to regard the work of teaching mainly as 
an assistance to the pupils in obtaining a certain 
amount of knowledge or information; and as 
this can be measured best by the pages of the 
book or by the per cent marks in an examin- 
ation these standards are uppermost in their 
minds. The apportioning of subjects and topics 
in a course of studies so that the attention is 
fixed mainly upon the amount to be learned 
tends to strengthen these convictions of unwise 
teachers and places unnecessary restraints upon 
wise ones. 

It may be said that whenever a course of stud- 
ies gives a great degree of freedom to teachers, 
there is likely to be a neglect of essentials and 
a weakening of work that may be called consec- 



The Superintendent as Organizer 87 

utive. But this can be true only of unwise and 
unskilled teachers. With those teachers who 
understand what all their pupils most need and 
who know how they are best to be provided with 
it, the faults above alluded to are not likely to 
exist. To them the fixed bounds of non-essen- 
tials stand in the way of a proper adjustment of 
the work to the needs of the pupils. In mat- 
ters only that are essential or important should 
limitations be indicated in a course of studies. 

But even the limits of the essentials of knowl- 
edge might well be omitted in a course to be fol- 
lowed by one teacher alone. It is only in a sys- 
tem of schools where two or more teachers are 
employed that a limited plan or programme of 
studies is needed. The fact that the non-essen- 
tial subjects are almost limitless in number and 
kind renders it impossible to make a selection of 
such subjects as will be suitable alike for all 
schools or for the pupils of all teachers. 

For these reasons, a course of studies intended 
for the schools of a large section, as of a county 
or state, should first of all be general in charac- 
ter, and be confined largely to the designation of 
subjects that are essential or important. This 
course may be used as a basis for a city or town 
course having the following features: 

1. A general outline of subjects to be taught 

in the various grades and classes, related sub- features of a 

. , , . . city or town 

]ects to be given m groups. course of 

2. A designation of important or principal studies, 
features which must be taken by all for a proper 
understanding of the subject. 



88 



School Organization and Supervision 



A minimum 
of work to be 
designated. 



General and 

specific 

courses. 



3. A designation of the less important fea- 
tures which may be taken up by some classes 
and pupils. 

4. A special syllabus upon each subject or 
group of subjects giving in detail, (a) sugges- 
tions of topics, from which the teacher may se- 
lect in giving work to a class or to individual 
pupils, (b) suggestions to teachers as to means, 
methods, sources, etc. 

5. A division of the various subjects in such 
a way that at given periods of time there may 
be a rational and orderly correlation of studies. 

It may be necessary to designate periods of 
time during which prescribed work must be ac- 
complished, but it should be done in such a way 
as to permit an elastic system of grading and 
promotions. This may be effected by designat- 
ing the minimum of work which is to be done 
within certain periods, and by placing in a par- 
allel column the time at which all that goes be- 
fore shall be completed. The outline of subjects 
thus presented will be only the essential or most 
important work required to be done. 

Some superintendents follow the plan of plac- 
ing a general course before their teachers, and 
of supplementing this course by specific direc- 
tions in monthly grade meetings. This plan suc- 
ceeds well where not too many details are given, 
and where the independence and originality of 
the teachers are not interfered with. It has the 
advantage of affording opportunity for constant 
adjustment of work to new and varied condi- 
tions, and of assisting untrained or inexperi- 



The Superintendent as Organizer 89 

enced teachers in a proper interpretation of direc- 
tions. Such a plan is especially advantageous for 
directors of special subjects, like drawing and 
nature study, inasmuch as it gives opportunity 
for instructing teachers in such technical details 
as are not well understood by them. 

The plan of issuing separate pamphlets or 
slips, containing the prescribed and suggested 
work for each subject in all the grades, has the ^^P^^^*^ 
advantage of bringing before each teacher a prescribed 
statement of what is expected to be done in a work, 
given subject in all the grades, thus making it 
easy for every teacher to know what every other 
teacher is expected to do, — a necessary condition 
for good work. This condition is not likely to 
exist under a plan followed by a few superintend- 
ents, of presenting the prescribed course of each 
grade in a single pamphlet. 

The question as to whether the course shall be j^g^-ijo^jg ^f 
presented by years or terms in each subject — or laying out the 
by subjects in each year or grade will be deter- work. 
mined largely by circumstances. Teachers are 
perhaps less likely to confine their attention to 
the requirements of their own grade or grades 
by the former plan. The advantages of both 
plans may be secured by placing the require- 
ments in tabular form opposite a given year or 
term. By this plan the requirements of a special 
grade will be read horizontally and the require- 
ments of all grades in a given subject or group 
of subjects will be read vertically. 

Correlation and concentration of studies. — The 
terms correlation and concentration as applied to 



90 



School Organization and Supervision 



a course of studies are sometimes used inter- 
changeably — but in the meaning of the two 
words there is a technical difference which should 

Correlation t, ,. --, ^ ■. ,. £ i. j- v. 

and concentra kept in mind. Correlation or studies may be 
tion of studies defined as the process of bringing related sub- 



defined. 



Uses of corre- 
lation. 



jects into such relation to the mind that they 
may be comprehended and used together. Con- 
centration of studies goes one step further. It 
combines with correlation a study of several 
subjects in relation to a common subject as a 
centre. It is the process of focussing related 
subjects so that emphasis may be placed upon a 
central subject, the focussing to be made from 
the parts of a subject, from the subjects of a 
group, or from all subjects of the course. 

The practice of some schools in recent years 
suggests possible dangers of over-correlation — 
dangers of restrictive limitations on the one 
hand, and of the forcing of unnatural relations 
on the other. But some of the practices also 
suggest lines of correlation which every course 
of study should indicate. 

If the desired correlation of studies signifies 
nothing more than a means of remembering cer- 
tain facts of a subject, it may be limited to in- 
cidental references which any good teacher makes 
in his teaching, and no mention need be made 
of such references in the course of studies more 
than to state the fact that in every study the 
teacher should bring together in the recitation 
certain related ideas for the purpose of fixing 
those ideas more firmly in the pupils' minds. 

It is asserted by some that a correlation of 



The Superintendent as Organizer 91 

studies means only a sequence of studies such as 
i\rould be made with the ends of education clear- 
ly in view. According to others, these views of 
correlation are insufficient as a guide to educa- 
tion. The mind, they say, naturally unifies the 
knowledge it receives, and it is the function of 
the course of studies, as it is of the teacher, to 
assist nature in this work. 

With the notion of incidental association of 
ideas only in mind, or that of a proper sequence 
of topics in the study of a subject, the teacher 
finds it difficult to " assist nature " in following 
some of our present courses of studies. With 
these courses only as guides, he might lead his 
pupils to learn the commercial cities of Europe, 
the history of Mexico, the names of the planets '^^^ dangers of 

,,,,.,. .,. , i-i- £ a separation 

and the distinguishing characteristics of an or- ^^^ isolation of 

chid, to conjugate the verb ''to be ", to write studies. 
a composition upon perseverance, to read about 
the exploits of John Smith, to perform problems 
in partial payments, and to spell the names of 
the diseases, — all to be studied and recited on 
the same day. This many teachers will say is 
not an exaggerated record of what they are ex- 
pected to do in a single day. In other words, 
the course of studies in many cases is simply an 
aggregation of subjects put together with no 
reference to their natural relations. Moreover 
the burden is becoming more heavy and the 
trial more perplexing as year by year new stud- 
ies are added to the curriculum. 

A true correlation of studies will help to solve 
the difficulty by furnishing to the teacher helps 



92 



School Organization and Supervision 



Result and 
ways of cor- 
relation. 



Subjects to be 
arranged in 
groups. 



both in the unification and in the co-ordination 
of studies. To accomphsh these ends it will be 
necessary to select the parts of all subjects for 
a given term or month that have a close relation 
to one another, and to arrange them in groups 
that are in some degree co-ordinate ; i. e. equally 
essential as a means of gaining the chief ends of 
education. There are parts of literature, history, 
science, mathematics, and the language arts that 
are clearly connected, logically and psychologi- 
cally. These subjects should be arranged in a 
course of studies so that they may be carried on 
together. It will not be necessary to confine the 
work of the school to these related subjects, but 
they should constitute both in kind and in 
amount the essential work to be done in a given 
time. That the education may be harmonious 
or many-sided, at least one subject of each of 
the greai co-ordinate groups of studies must be 
pursued during the entire school period. 

The wise teacher's practice and needs in his 
daily work may well determine the character of 
a course of studies. As has been said, the good 
teacher always and everywhere recognizes in 
teaching any subject the importance of bringing 
to the attention of his pupils all scraps of re- 
lated knowledge, and of appealing to their ex- 
perience of every kind which has a vital con- 
nection with the subject in hand. 

In teaching reading for example the teacher 
recognizes the fact that reading is but a means 
of learning history, literature, and science, and 
therefore these subjects are early brought into 



The Superintendent as Organizer 93 

service as a means of securing the immediate 
ends of the subject which he is teaching. More- Examples of 
over the proper interpretation of hterature de- 
mands a minute and vridely extended knowl- 
edge of many things which are made the sub- 
ject of study at the time of reading. In geog- 
raphy there are presented constantly the related 
subjects in various fields of knowedge not com- 
monly regarded as geographical. Even in the 
teaching of mathematics there are repeated ap- 
plications which incidentally open to the pupils 
increased acquisitions in science and art. In all 
this work the course of studies should be of ma- 
terial assistance — both by leaving the teacher 
free to teach in the best way and also by help- 
fully suggesting related material. 

It will be observed that this method of cor- 
relation implies a method of concentration by 
which each subject taught is made in turn a ^ concentra- 

•^ " tion of studies 

central or focussing subject. Many educators desirable. 
while not discouraging such work would carry 
the idea further by making one subject of study 
a focussing centre of all others, the central sub- 
ject being determined by its relative importance 
as a means of attaining the highest ends of edu- 
cation. The most conspicuous example of this 
kind of correlation is that furnished by some of 
the followers of Herbart, who, in making moral ^ . 
and religious culture the supreme end in educa- idea of concen- 
tion, place special emphasis upon history and ti-ation. 
make that subject the central one to which all 
others refer. In the laying out of a course of 
studies upon this plan, the effort is made to place 



94 



School Organization and Supervision 



History a basis 
of correlation. 



Industrial 
work a basis 
of correlation. 



the national and religious stages of development 
in agreement with the corresponding stages of 
the child's mental development. 

The same parallelism of racial and individual 
development is recognized in recent courses 
which make the history of our country the basis 
of correlation. Thus in the early years of the 
child's life in school or when he is 6 or 7 years 
of age, primitive conditions of life are talked 
and read about. Stories of exploration and dis- 
covery become the centre about which lessons 
in natural history, geography, and even arith- 
metic are given. Later, accounts of early set- 
tlements are made the centre of interest and of 
study. Thus in the middle grades the early his- 
tory of the thirteen colonies is made the basis 
for the study of North America and of the plants 
and animals peculiar to that locality, while all 
help to illumine such masterpieces of literature 
as Hiawatha and Evangeline. 

Akin to the above idea of correlation is the 
uniting of the home and neighborhood life with 
the work of the school so zealously advocated by 
some educators. Thus useful occupations which 
represent the products of civilized life are made 
the basis of the course. In connection with 
gardening, and making of baskets, rugs, cloth- 
ing, etc., there is joined much incidental instruc- 
tion in drawing, measuring, casting accounts, 
etc., while the pupils are brought into close re- 
lation with genuine conditions of spiritual cul- 
ture. 

In all these various schemes of correlation 



The Superintendent as Organizer 95 

there will be seen two distinct features: first an 
appeal to the child's natural interests, and sec- 
ondly an aid to the preparation for life in the 
world. The two aspects of life with which edu- 
cation has chiefly to do are the life of the indi- i^^^^triai oc- 

, . Pin- J cupationsand 

vidual as a worker in some useful calling and history the two 
the life of the individual as a member of society, centres. 
With the former or vocational end in view we 
shall make the industrial occupations of the 
school a centre of study. With the latter, or 
social end in view, history will take the leading 
place. But in both aspects there will be recog- 
nized the necessity of unifying knowledge as 
far as possible, and of bringing it into a close 
relation to service which is alike the end of edu- 
cation and the end of life. 

The making of a course of studies. — The fea- pour features 
tures of a course of studies which superintend- of a course of 
ents should especially consider are: first, the studies. 
scope or aim and range of subjects to be pre- 
sented under each group; second, the relation 
which the subjects of a group bear to one an- 
other and to the subjects of other groups ; third, 
the sequence or order in which the various sub- 
jects or parts of subjects should be presented; 
and, fourth, the limitations both in time and 
substance which should be made in each branch 
of study. 

n^^ ' n - ^ ' j. a l ■^ Aim and range 

The aim or purpose of a given subject of study ^^ subiects 
may be general and remote, or specific and im- 
mediate ; a course of studies has to do mainly with 
the former, the latter aim belonging more to a 
statement of methods which are supposed to be 



96 



School Organization and Supervision 



Relation of 
subjects. 



Sequence of 
of subjects. 



known by teachers. The range of topics out- 
lined in each branch of study will be determined 
partly by the aim and partly by the conditions 
under which the school is carried on, — these con- 
ditions being the number of pupils, the number 
of classes, the length of the course, the number 
and character of the teaching force. It is un- 
derstood, of course, that, as " preparation for 
complete living " is the end of education, so all 
subjects and parts of subjects that do not con- 
tribute to this end are to be excluded from the 
course. 

The subjects of study should be so placed in a 
course as to assist the teacher to correlate them 
in teaching, that is, to present them in right re- 
lations, so that each fact of knowledge or in- 
formation acquired shall be fortified and en- 
riched by others, and so that good habits of 
thinking shall be encouraged. As far as possi- 
ble, the relation of each subject to its use, and 
especially to its use in life, should be indicated. 

The sequence or order in which the various 
topics should be presented is determined by 
their relations of dependence one upon another, 
and by the natural order in which the mind acts. 
The sequence of subjects in a course should not 
be so marked or finely drawn as to cause the 
teacher to think more of the relation or depend- 
ence of subjects one upon another than of the 
relation of each subject to the mind and life of 
the child. 

The limitations of any branch of study in re- 
spect to time and subject-matter will be deter- 



The Superintendent as Organizer 97 

mined largely by the relative importance of that 

branch or of the subjects of that branch as a , • .. .. 

„ ,.,.,, Tji -, ■ -, Limitations of 

means of accomplishmg the ends to be desired, subjects. 

Other limitations are those which are determined 

by the length of the school session and school 

year and by the number of classes and pupils to 

a teacher. 

Course in language, including reading, writing, 
composition and spelling, memory work, English 
grammar, and one foreign language. 

Language is the expression of thought. The ^ 

, T • ji 11 -1 • • Subjects in- 

term as used m the school curriculum is in- eluded in in- 
tended to mean the expression of thought in guage. 
words. As a subject of instruction, it relates to 
acquiring thought by means of the printed or 
written page, and to expressing thought both by 
speaking and by writing. Language, therefore, 
includes upon the practical side reading and 
composition. Upon the theoretical side it in- 
cludes grammar, rhetoric, and logic, the ele- 
ments only of which should be taught in the 
grammar school, and always in close connection 
with reading and composition. In some schools 
a foreign language may be taught during the 
last years of the grammar school course, the sub- 
ject being offered as an elective for those who can 
carry on the regular English branches. 

1. The immediate aim in language is the power , . 

'^^ *^ ^ Aim and scope 

to gain and communicate ideas through written of language 
or spoken words. This will involve (a) power teaching, 
to read intelligently and (b) power to speak and 
write correctly and effectively. 

The reading must include, first, a mastery of 



98 



School Organization and Supervision 



Ends in teach- 
ing language 
and gram mar. 



the symbols, that is, learning to read ; and, sec- 
ond, such companionship with and study of good 
literature as shall develop power to understand 
and appreciate it, to the end of inculcating a 
strong and lasting taste for the best reading and 
of developing a fine artistic and moral sense. 

The power to speak and write correctly and 
effectively involves, first, the mastery of written 
and spoken forms in accordance with accepted 
usage; second, analysis of language to discover 
the rules of usage ; and, third, constant practice 
in speaking and writing, both before and after 
such analysis. Effectiveness in writing includes 
clearness, conciseness, force, grace, and origin- 
ality. 

While the elementary course in grammar has 
for its chief end correctness of oral and written 
speech, it may also include some features of effec- 
tiveness, such as clearness, conciseness, and force. 
The most important fact to be kept in mind is 
that the study of this subject in the grammar 
school should be elementary and very practical, 
the aim being to teach principles by which the 
pupil is enabled, first, to understand the language 
of literature ; and, second, to express his thoughts 
in some measure as they should be expressed. 
,An incidental but by no means unimportant end 
in the study of grammar is mental discipline, — a 
power of the mind to generalize, to make rules 
from facts, and to apply principles and rules to 
practice. 

2. It is evident that all forms of language 
as branches of study are closely related to one 



The Superintendent as Organizer 99 

another and to nearly all other branches. The 

forms of expression in the reading books become J^eiations of 

„..,,. . nn i j_ n language sub- 

models for imitation in all departments or ^^^^^ 

composition work, which serves as a means of 
practice in grammar and rhetoric. The relation 
of the theoretical side of language to the practi- 
cal side both in reading and in writing should be 
indicated by prescribing practice in analysis of 
sentences and in constant application of the 
rules of syntax most frequently violated. 

The work in composition should be closely re- 
lated to the pupils' thinking; and as the regular 
subjects of study are supposed to occasion 
thought, they therefore constitute a good basis 
for language in the recitation. Moreover, the 
regular studies, especially geography, history, 
science, and reading, should constantly furnish 
topics for composition. 

Some of the most obvious relations which the 
branches of this group have with one another 
and with other subjects of study are matters of 
apperceptive teaching, which every good teacher 
understands, and which therefore need not be 
indicated in a course of studies. 

3. To secure a mastery of forms in language, a 
certain definite order should be followed. Thus in 
learning to read, the order is governed by a well- sequence of 
known principle of ''proceeding from a vague subjects in lan- 
knowledge of the whole through analysis and s^age. 
synthesis to a clear knowledge of the whole." 
While a course of studies may not give the steps 
by which this principle is observed, it may prop- 
erly state that the teaching should begin either 

LOFC. 



100 School Organization and Supervision 

with words alone or with words in sentences, 
and that analysis and synthesis should follow 
in natural order. It may also state that the first 
words and sentences should be read from the 
blackboard, and afterwards from the chart and 
first readers. The order to be followed at 
this stage in the selection of reading material 
is well indicated by the ordinary first and second 
readers. The order of selection after the pupils 
have acquired skill in reading should be deter- 
mined by the tastes and abilities of the children, 
the selection to be made from given lists of books. 

The sequence to be followed in the technique 
of writing may be sufficiently indicated by stat- 
ing that during the first two years there should be 
much copying of good texts, beginning with 
words whose letters are easily made, as man and 
coiu, and proceeding by degrees to words more 
difficult to write. Some courses prescribe much 
practice with single letters to be taken up in the 
order of complexity. 

In spelling, it appears to be the custom in the 
best courses to prescribe some oral work for 
the lower grades, but the main attention, 
is given to writing words in sentences. The 
words selected for drill in these grades are to be 
found in the regular reading books. Beyond the 
third grade, in addition to the words used in the 
composition exercises, lists of words such as are 
found in a good spelling book may be used with 
profit for dictation, the words to be written both 
singly and in sentences. 

English grammar may be regarded as one of 



The Superintendent as Organizer 101 

the few strictly sequential subjects of the ele- 
mentary course. Each topic should lead up to C)utiine for 
the next, and all should have distinct reference Jt^ ^^ ^^^^' 

' mar. 

to the ends already pointed out. The following 
general outline shows the order which may be 
pursued in an elementary study of this subject : — 

(1) the sentence and kinds of sentences de- 
fined 

(2) subject and predicate, simple and com- 
plete 

(3) parts of speech 

(4) limiting phrases and clauses 

(5) nouns — kinds and forms 

(6) pronouns — kinds and forms 

(7) rules of syntax, respecting the case of 
pronouns 

(8) verbs — kinds and forms 

(9) rule of syntax, respecting the form of 
the verb 

(10) adjectives — kinds, forms and uses 

(11) adverbs — kinds, forms and uses 

(12) prepositions — uses 

(13) conjunctions — kinds and uses. 

4. The amount that can be done in the various 

language subjects will depend largely upon the 

srrade and natural abilities of the pupils. In some , ^'^^^^^^^^^ J° 
^ jr jr language sub- 

subjects the exact amount to be done should jects. 
not be prescribed, while in others the amount 
prescribed will indicate the least that should be 
done in a given period, with a provision for 
sufficient time to permit classes or individual 
pupils to do as much as they are able to do. 
At the end of the second year the pupils 



102 School Organization and Supervision 

should have so far mastered the symbols of read- 
ing as to read easily at sight any ordinary second 
reader. To accomplish this, several first readers 
and several second readers should be read through 
during the two years. After the second year the 
reading should be carried on in the two lines al- 
ready indicated, an average of at least ten pages 
a week of each kind being required in all grades. 
It should be understood that this is the mini- 
mum required, and does not include the amount 
of reading to be done at home or the extra read- 
ing by indi\adual pupils. In most schools prob- 
ably the limit set is not more than half of what 
can be well done. 

Except in special instances, no set exercises in 
writing should be given after the fifth year. 
Whatever is needed to secure legibility and 
rapidity of writing after this time should be 
done in connection with the composition and 
dictation work. 

Most of the special instruction in spelling 
should be given during the first six years. With 
the exception of occasional reviews, the work in 
this branch during the last two years of the 
course should be confined to the correction of 
words mis-spelled in the composition and other 
written exercises. 

The limits in written language are difficult to 
define. It is understood that more depends upon 
the quality of work done than upon the quan- 
tity ; and yet it is manifestly the latter feature 
only that can be presented in a course of studies. 
An average of 10 lines a day of carefully writ- 



The Superintendent as Organizer 103 

ten original work during the entire course be- 
yond the second grade, and an equal amount of 
dictation for instruction in punctuation, spelling, 
etc. , from the third to the sixth grades inclusive, 
should be the minimum of written work re- 
quired, it being understood that monthly com- 
positions are to be written by all pupils in the 
three highest grades. By original work is meant 
letter writing, descriptions of pictures and ob- 
jects, narration of events real or imaginary, and 
all reproductions in which the pupils use their 
own arrangement of words. 

In designating the subjects of this group, no 
mention was made of memorizing choice selec- 
tions of poetry and prose. While such an exer- 
cise may be classed under reading and dictation, 
particular mention of it should be made in the 
course. An average of at least 10 lines a week 
should be required to be memorized by pupils of 
all grades, it being understood that the selec- 
tions memorized shall be of a high order of liter- 
ary merit, and adapted to the capacity of the 
children. 

Eeference has been made to the necessity of 
limiting the study of grammar in the grammar 
school to the elements of the study and to its 
use in analysis and syntax. Only those proper- 
ties of the parts of speech should be required to 
be learned that are needed for analysis of sen- 
tences and for a proper understanding of the 
rules of syntax. These rules should be limited 
to rules which are most commonly violated. 
Not more than 10 rules should be made and 



104 School Organization and Supervision 

learned, but they should form the basis of con- 
stant practice in the construction of sentences. 
These and other limitations of the subject appear 
in what has been said upon the sequence of top- 
ics to be studied. 

Where there are so many branches in a group 
as are included in this group, it may be well to 
designate approximately the amount of time to 
which the recitation in each branch should be 
limited. If, for example, the amount of time 
allowed for the language group of studies in the 
various grades ranges from one- fourth to two- 
fifths of the entire school time, the allotment for 
each branch of the group might be as follows : 

Time programme, shelving the number of min- 
utes a week spent in recitation by a pupil in 
reading, writing^ spelling, composition and 
grammar. 



SUBJECT 


Sub- 
pri- 
mary 


Grade 
1 


Grade 
2 


Grade 
3 


Grade 
4 


Grade 
5 


Gi^ade 
6 


Grade 

7 


Grd 
8 


Reading . . 


198* 


190 


190 


150 


120 


120 


120 


120 


120 


Spelling . . 


[loo) 


50 


50 


50 


50 


50 


) 






Writing . . 


60 


60 


75 


60 


60 


V200 


160 


160 


Comp'tion 


50 


78 


78 


96 


90 


90 


) 






Grammar . 
















100 


100 


Totals . . 


348 


378 


378 


371 


320 


320 


320 


380 


380 



* Including storj'-telling. 

It should be understood that the above figures 
are only tentative and approximate, and are 
given merely to show how an apportionment 
may be made under given conditions. It should 
be understood also that the time given is the 
recitation time only of a pupil or group of pu- 



The Superintendent as Organizer 105 

pils, and that the time occupied outside of recita- 
tion in copying or composing is not counted in 
the above schedule. One advantage in the way 
of time saving v^hich composition, speUing and 
v^riting have over some other subjects should be 
taken into account, and that is the practicability 
of having all the pupils of a school recite to- 
gether. 

Course in mathematics, including arithmetic, 
form and geometrical exercises, algebra, and 
bookkeeping. 

1. Mathematics, or the knowledge of quantity 
and space relations, is taught both for its practi- Scope of math 
cal and for its disciplinary value. In the ele- ^^^^^^^s- 
mentary schools it is taught mainly as an art, 
although the foundations of mathematical 
science are laid throughout the grammar school 
course, and in the upper grades something of 
the science itself is taught. The department of 
mathematics chiefly pursued in the elementary 
schools is that of arithmetic, — the elements of 
geometry and algebra being taught in the upper 
grades. To these is added a simple form of 
book-keeping, which may be regarded as an ex- 
tension of the practical side of arithmetic. 

Arithmetic is a knowledge of numbers, their 
expression, relations, and operations. The num- Arithmetic 
bers to be learned are integral and fractional, 
simple and denominate. So much of this knowl- 
edge should be acquired as will help the pupils 
to solve all the ordinary problems of daily life, 
and at the same time serve as a meaos of 
mental discipline. The scope of arithmetic in 



106 School Organization and Supervision 

successive grades will be determined largely by 
the power of the pupils to grasp new relations 
and conditions. In recent courses a broad basis 
of subjects has been prescribed for the lower 
grades, including fractions (both common and 
decimal), percentage, and measurements. The 
two kinds of work, — computations with abstract 
numbers and work in practical problems,— should 
be presented in all grades, the amount of the 
former decreasing and of the latter increasing 
in successive grades. 

The aim of geometry in the grammar school 
is chiefly to supplement the course in arithmetic, 
Geometry. and to furnish a good basis for instruction in 
mechanical drawing and manual training. The 
work required should be both constructive and 
inventional, supplemented by as many simple 
demonstrations as circumstances will permit, 
the aim being to make the work as practical as 
possible. 

The design of algebra in the grammar school 
is to give pupils a general idea of numerical re- 
Algebra lations and operations. Besides furnishing short 
and easy solutions of problems which are by 
arithmetic quite difficult, algebra gives pupils 
the power to state in general terms the condi- 
tions of a problem and the process of its solu- 
tion, and thereby to deal with formulae and rules 
more easily than by arithmetic. Moreover, the 
elementary work in algebra may be so arranged 
as to give support to the higher form of the 
study in the high school. 

Bookkeeping may be regarded as only one of 



The Superintendent as Organizer 107 

the many practical applications of arithmetic. 
Its end in the grammar school is ability to keep Bookkeeping 
accounts which would be ordinarily needed by a 
farmer, mechanic, or small retail shopkeeper. 
Incidentally there will be acquired in the study 
some knowedge useful in higher forms of book- 
keeping. 

2. The close relations of the various depart- 
ments of mathematics to one another are ap- 
parent. So close are these relations in the early ^ , ^. „ 

^ -^ Relations of 

stages of algebra and geometry that the subjects the various de- 
may be said to be continuous rather than dis- partments of 
Crete. This is especially true in many kinds of ^^^^^e^atics. 
practical work in which arithmetical processes 
are shortened by the use of algebraic symbols, 
and are practically applied in geometrical meas- 
urements. 

The relation of the subjects of this group to 
other subjects of study is not so close as to make 
it necessary to bring them together constantly. 
Yet the facts of geography, history, and elemen- 
tary science may be sometimes employed in 
arithmetical operations, to the advantage of all 
the subjects involved. 

3. While it is true, as has been said, that there 
should be a broad basis of subjects in the lower 
grades in the operations to be performed with 
numbers, there is a progressive order which 
should be prescribed in a course of studies. 
This order has to do with the relative complexity 
of processes and also with the size of the num- 
bers. In integral numbers, the work prescribed 
should be in successive steps, as follows: (a) 



108 School Organization and Supervision 



Sequence of 
work in arith- 
metic. 



from 1 to 10, (6) from 1 to 20, (c) from 1 to 100, 
(d) from 1 to 1,000, (e) from 1 to 1,000,000, (/) 
unlimited. In fractional numbers, the fractional 
parts of numbers should be taught almost 
from the beginning, and proceed in the third 
grade with fractional units, using in succession 
halves, fourths, eighths, thirds, sixths, twelfths, 
ninths, fifths, sevenths, and elevenths. Deci- 
mals begun as early as the fourth grade should 
be taught by steps from tenths, hundredths, and 
thousandths, which are the only decimals used 
for one year, to decimals of a lower denomina- 
tion. Denominate numbers should be taught 
from the very beginning, the order of instruc- 
tion being generally from measures most famil- 
iar to those that are less familiar. 

The order of teaching numbers of all kinds 
should be first with objects and afterwards with- 
out objects, and also first without figures and 
afterwards with figures; the warning being 
given that too much dependence should not be 
placed upon aids, either by using the objects too 
long or by employing figures unnecessarily in 
the solution of problems. 

The sequence of steps in algebra and geome- 
try will be indicated later, when their limita- 
tions are treated. 

4. The time allotted to arithmetic should be 
given mainly to what may be called the essen- 
tials of the subject, or to such work as will be 
found useful in everyday life. The following 
topics will indicate the degree of restriction that 
may be made : 



The Superintendent as Organizer 109 

(1) correctness and rapidity in adding, sub- Limitations of 
tracting, multiplying and dividing ; arithmetic. 

(2) ability to work without the aid of figures 
in all operations, to 100 in whole numbers, to 
twelfths in common fractions and to thous- 
andths in decimals ; 

(3) knowledge and skill in the use of such de- 
nominate numbers as are used ordinarily in buy- 
ing and selling and in keeping accounts ; 

(4) knowledge of percentage and of the simple 
applications of percentage, such as are needed 
in ordinary business affairs; 

(5) knowledge of geometrical measurements, 
so far as to perform problems involved in the 
ordinary affairs of life. 

It should be understood that if more is done 
than is comprised in the above outline, it should 
not be at the expense of thoroughness in these 
subjects. It is believed that a large part of this 
work can be done in the first six grades. Dur- 
ing the last two grades one or two lessons a 
week might be given to the more difficult prob- 
lems involved. 

The geometrical exercises of the grammar 
school should be limited to work in mensuration Limitations of 
carried on in connection with arithmetic, and to ^^^^^ ^^' 
exercises of a concrete and experimental kind. 
The following outline in mensuration, followed 
in the Springfield, Mass., course, sufficiently in- 
dicates the needed limitations of this part of the 
subiect: 

A. Surfaces. — (1) Parts, (a) number of sides, 



110 School Organization and Supervision 

(b) relative direction of sides (whether parallel, 
perpeDdicular, etc.), (c) angles. 

(2) Comparison with other surfaces as to (a), 

(b) and (c). 

(3) Length of perimeter or circumference. 
(4) Area. 

B. Solids. — (1) Parts, (a) number of faces, (b) 
kinds of faces, (plane or curved), (c) number of 
edges, {d) relative direction of faces (whether 
parallel, perpendicular, etc. 

(2) Comparison with other solids as to (a), (6), 

(c) and (d), 

(3) Length of all the edges. (4) Surface area. 
(5) Volume or solid contents. 

The limitations of work prescribed in experi- 
mental and constructive geometry should not be 
too strictly drawn. The better way will be to 
present an outline from which teachers may 
select work adapted to the ability of their pupils. 
Such an outline may include : 

(1) definition of volume, surface, line, angle 

(2) definitions of various kinds of lines 

(3) definitions of various kinds of angles 

(4) division of line into any number of equal 
parts 

(5) construction of angles of various magni- 
tudes 

(6) definitions of various kinds of triangles, 
parts, etc. 

(7) problems relating to angles and sides of 
triangles 

(8) definitions of quadrilateral and kinds of 
quadrilaterals 



The Superintendent as Organizer 111 

(9) problems relating to angles and sides of 
parallelograms 

(10) definitions of pentagon, hexagon, hepta- 
gon, etc. 

(11) problems relating to the construction of 
polygons 

(12) problems relating to the division of poly- 
gons 

(13) problems relating' to the construction of 
similar polygons 

(14) definitions of circle and parts of circle 

(15) problems relating to diameter, circumfer- 
ence, arc, chord, secant and tangent 

(16) definitions of various kinds of volumes 
(IT) problems in relation to the surfaces of 

volumes 

(18) problems in relation to the solid contents 
of volumes. 

The problems indicated in the above outline 
may be either concrete and constructive, or 
demonstrative, depending upon the ability of a 
class or of the individual pupils of a class. 

If the purposes of algebra in the grammar 
school are as indicated in a previous paragraph, 
its limitations might be somewhat as follows : 

(1) algebraic notation 

(2) simple arithmetical problems, solved by Limitations of 

algebra algebra. 

(3) addition, subtraction, multiplication and 
division 

(4) factoring of simple algebraic quantities 

(5) reduction of fractions 



112 School Organization and Supervision 



What is in- 
cluded in 
nature study. 



(6) resolving of equations containing one and 
two unknown quantities 

(7) practical problems involving the foregoing. 

Course in elementary science, including nature 
study, geography, physiology and hygiene, infor- 
mation lessons relating to science, geography, and 
physiology and hygiene. 

1. The immediate end of all the studies of this 
group is a knowledge of nature, including man 
and all that is below man. The term nature 
study in recent years has been made to cover the 
study of plants, animals, and minerals, and the 
elementary work done in physics and chemistry. 
This group also includes physiology and hygiene 
and geography. 

While it may be necessary in nature study to 
lead the pupils to learn through observation the 
facts of nature, they will learn them not for 
their own sake, nor mainly for the use they will 
make of them later in the study of science, but 
for the habits of observation which the lessons 
will help to form and for the abiding love of 
nature which they will help to arouse. These 
two ends, therefore, the formation of habits of 
observation and the arousing of a love for nature, 
will determine largely the character and extent 
of the study. It will include in their appropriate 
season the observation of minerals, plants and 
animals, and some of the more apparent physi- 
cal forces. 

These observation lessons will fail to produce 
the desired ends if they stop with a knowledge 
merely of what is observed. The interpretation 



The Superintendent as Organizer 113 

of phenomena is of more value than the mere 
observation of them as facts. The adaptation 
of parts of animals and plants to the uses they 
perform will early become an object of inquiry. 
It should be observed that while a love for nature 
is the primary end of nature study, it cannot be 
reached by simply talking about the objects ob- 
served. Such lessons may drift into mere senti- 
mental reflections of httle value. The facts 
must be learned not by reading or hearing, but 
by observing, and those facts should be reviewed 
frequently enough to be readily brought to mind. 

The study of physiology and hygiene includes 
in its scope such knowledge of the anatomy of Scope of physi- 
the body and the uses of the various parts as ^^^^ ^^ ^ 
will help the pupils to have respect for the body 
and to keep it in health and strength. Practical- 
ness of aim in this study should be paramount, 
especially in the direction of forming good hab- 
its and of preventing bad ones. 

Through the study of geograph}/ the pupils 
acquire a knowledge of the earth as the home ^^ j ^^^^ 
of man. There are two elements, therefore, of in geography. 
this branch of study; first, nature, in making 
the earth suitable for human habitation; and, 
second, the people, in making it a place in which 
all the activities of life are carried on. So far 
as possible, the pupils' knowledge of the earth 
should be interpretive knowledge, or knowledge 
by which they may understand the relations to 
human life of its various features, such as cli- 
mate, surface, soil, etc. 

2. The facts acquired in nature study are 



114 School Organization and Supervision 



Relations of 
the subjects in 
elementary 
science. 



Comparative 
anatomy and 
physiology. 



closely related to the primary facts of geogra- 
phy; indeed, many of the facts of nature study 
and geography are identical. The subjects of 
study in these two branches should therefore be 
arranged in the course with reference to pur- 
poses of correlation ; and where it is possible the 
relations should be made to appear, as, for ex- 
ample, the effects of running water as a topic of 
nature study, and the study of relief forms as 
a topic of geography. 

The relations also of one or both of these 
branches to arithmetic and history should be in- 
dicated. Probably no subjects in the course 
will be found to be more serviceable for compo- 
sition and for drawing than these. If such re- 
lations are not indicated in the course, oppor- 
tunity at least should be afforded for abundant 
practice in expressing by various ways the facts 
acquired. 

In the lower grades resemblances and differ- 
ences of the human structure and that of the 
lower animals should be objects of study, and 
in the higher grades the connection of the facts 
of anatomy and physiology with those of chem- 
istry and physics should be made to appear. In 
all grades the relation of parts of the body to 
their uses and of the uses to health and strength 
should be shown. 

3. The allotment of work in nature study to 
be done in a given time, whether it be for a year 
or a day, should be determined by the pupils' 
natural powers, both of observation and of in- 
terpretation. With young children, little is 



The Superintendent as Organizer 115 

gained by establishing a fixed order of presenta- 
tion. In general, it may be said that the obser- ^^ciuenceof 

^ ' *^ subjects in 

vations should be made first ' ' in the large ' ' and nature study 
afterward more minutely; but if children are and geogia- 
interested in the parts of an object very early in ^^^^^' 
their observations attention should be given to 
them, especially if the interest centres in the 
uses of the parts. It is always a safe rule to 
teach those things which will best serve as inter- 
preters of other things of value for the child to 
know. On the same principle, a clear and defi- 
nite knowledge of home surroundings is necesr 
sary to a proper knowledge of distant features 
and conditions. A knowledge by observation of 
a hill range will be the means of interpreting the 
distant mountain range described in the book. 
As far as possible also the logical order should 
be followed in teaching the various topics. The 
situation and surface of a continent or country 
may determine to some extent the climate and 
rainfall, — a knowledge of which helps the pupils 
to infer what the productions and the occupa- 
tions of the people are. 

In anatomy and physiology, the practice in 
the best schools of deferring the teaching of the topics in anat- 

^ . ^ omy and pnysi- 

internal structure of the body until the later oiogy for high- 
years of the grammar school seems wise ; as also er grades. 
is the practice of making domestic and public 
hygiene a prominent feature of the course in the 
upper grades of the grammar school and in the 
high school. 

4. In determining the amount to be done the 
two chief ends of nature study should be kept 



116 School Organization and Supervision 



Ends and limi- 
tations of 
nature study. 



Limitations in 
the study of 
anatomy and 
physiology. 



Place and 
scope of 
history. 



in mind. To form good habits of observation 
and to acquire a love of nature, there should be 
no forcing of acquisition. In no study vrill it be 
found more necessary to be led by the natural 
aptitudes and desires of the children than in the 
study of plants, animals, and minerals. While 
it may be well to lay before the teachers a wide 
field for observation, it should be understood 
that such selection of the work assigned may be 
made as will be best suited to given conditions. 
Again a broad range of topics will furnish the 
needed extra and optional work for some pupils 
aready spoken of. 

Strictness in limiting the study of anatomy 
and physiology to practical ends should be care- 
fully observed. No subjects should be taught 
which are not clearly seen to have some bearing 
upon every-day life. 

Course in history, including biography and 
civil government. 

1. The place and scope of history as a branch 
of study have materially changed in recent 
years. Instead of occupying, as it once did, 
a small part of the last year or two of the gram- 
mar school course, it is now in the best schools 
begun in the first year and carried on throughout 
the course; and, instead of being a dry and 
profitless study of wars and dates, it has come 
to be regarded as a study both pleasurable and 
useful as a means of culture. According to this 
later view of the subject, its purpose from the 
first should be to inspire the pupils with high 



The Superintendent as Organizer 117 

ideals of life, both as citizens and as members of 
society. 

Moreover, to lead the pupils to acquire a taste 
for history, the subject should be made interest- 
ing from the first. Myths, fairy stories, and 
stories of semicivilized and colonial hfe should 
be told to and read by the children in the lower 
grades, to be continued each year by the reading 
of stories of biography and of American history 
in chronological order in the middle grades, and 
by the studyof English and American history in 
the higher. All phases of social, civil, and insti- 
tutional life are to be presented to the children in 
forms suited to their interest and capacity. 
Thus we see that history, which is a record of 
the growth of a people from their earliest to their 
present state, includes biography and civil gov- 
ernment as well as history proper. 

2. As history teaches all sides of life, it stands 
in close relation to all the other studies of the 

1 , , . , 1^1 ; • Relation of 

school which are supposed to be a preparation iiistory'to otiier 
for life: to arithmetic, in furnishing material for studies! '^^ 
computations ; to science, in showing the analo- 
gies of the evolution of the race and that of the 
individual; to geography, in the use of charts 
and maps, and in furnishing a basis of compari- 
son whereby the present conditions of social and 
civil life are better known ; to literature, in pro- 
viding the basis of much of the finest forms of 
the oration, the ballad, the drama and the 
epic ; and to drawing and language, in awaken- 
ing thoughts that deserve the pupils' best efforts 
of expression. 



118 School Organization and Supervision 

While most of these relations cannot appear 
in a course of studies, they must be considered 
in giving history its proper place. In literature 
especially should the close relation of history be 
recognized in the course of studies. There are 
phases of history that can best be known through 
literature, as there are forms of literature that 
can be fully interpreted only by a knowledge of 
history. 

3. While the order of topics will depend some- 
Sequence of what upon the interest and capacity of the pu- 
subjects. pils, there is now a generally recognized order of 

presentation which should be embodied in a 
course. The first year or two may be given to the 
telling and reading of folk-lore and fairy stories, 
myths and fables. These should be followed by 
reading stories of Indian and early settlement 
life, supplemented by biographical stories. As 
soon as the pupils are ready for it, and before the 
consecutive reading and study of American his- 
tory are begun, attention should be given to in- 
teresting facts of local history, such as scenes of 
celebrated events, early settlers, and well-known 
traditions. Consecutive topical study in connec- 
tion with the reading of both American and 
English history should be prescribed for the last 
years of the course. 

4. The limitations of subject-matter in history 
should be determined largely by the limitations 
of time and by the demands of other subjects. 
Not even a minimum of requirements should be 
prescribed, so far at least as such requirements 
are made a basis for marking or examinations. 



The Superintendent as Organize^' 119 

In this, as in no other subject, may the amount 

read and studied be adapted to the abihties of Limitations of 

, . T . T , ., T/» j^i ^ ■ 1 1 subiect matter 

each individual pupil. It the work required to j^^ history 
be done be given out and recited by subjects or 
topics, each pupil may learn as much of each 
subject or topic as time and ability will permit. 
The course therefore should be so arranged as to 
permit the greatest degree of freedom in teach- 
ing the subject. If this is done, and examina- 
tions have their proper place, the teachers alone 
will be responsible if the pupils have not a lov- 
ing interest in the subject, not only while they 
are being taught, but also after they have left 
school. 

Course in drawing, industrial training, singing 
and physical culture. 

1. In no branch of instruction has there been 
a greater change of place and scope than in 
drawing. Twenty-five years ago the number of 
public schools in which drawing was systemati- 
cally taught was very small. Now the schools 
in which it is not taught are as rare as were the 
schools formerly where it was taught. 

At first the cultivation of the aesthetic sense 
was considered the only end to be sought, and Purpose and 

., . J 1 1 J. X 1 11 function of 

it was m some way thought to be reached (^j-awinff as a 
through drawing endless castles and rustic mills study. 
from fiat copies. Later, the dominant purpose 
seemed to be to make the subject as practical as 
possible. This was effected by the introduc- 
tion of mechanical drawing, which had little 
relation to practical mechanics, and which was 
generally a laborious and tedious process to all 



120 • School Organization and Supervision 

concerned. Gradually these two ideas of the 
purpose of drawing as a branch of study have 
been supplemented by a third, which is that 
drawing is educational, and serves to train all 
the powers of the mind. 

As such the subject has its strongest claim for 
a place in the programme. With this later idea 
of the function of drawing have come improved 
methods of teaching the subject, which serve to 
accomplish in good ways the ends that were for- 
merly sought : of aesthetics, by leading the pupils 
to draw and to use colors in imitation of nature 
and to appreciate by observation and study the 
most beautiful works of art; and of practical- 
ness, by drawing free-hand from objects, and by 
connecting closely the mechanical part of the 
subject with the work of manual training and 
with the every-day uses of life. 

If by industrial training is meant the careful 
observation of and practice in the various indus- 
tries of the home and community we can readily 
Claims of in- g^g j^g extended scope as including all those sub- 

dustrial train- - , n j. i i - i • 1-^-^4- 

. ]ects of study which are m any way related to 

vocational service, especially to service that can 
be rendered with the hands. The best manual 
training is no longer confined to working in wood 
nor is its end merely discipline or dexterity in 
the use of tools. As a school study it is preemi- 
nently practical, helping alike to train the mind 
and to prepare for hfe. Its claims to a place in 
the course of studies are : 

(1) it teaches dexterity of hand 

(2) it trains to habits of order and neatness 



The Superintendent as Organizer 121 

(3) it cultivates a sense of truth and right by 
demanding exactness of details 

(4) it cultivates the will in its requirements of 
persistence until an object is completed 

(5) it serves as a valuable aid to drawing and 
art studies 

(6) it cultivates the ethical sense in enabling 
pupils to make useful objects 

(7) it serves to offset the strain of intellectual 
work 

(8) it encourages respect for manual labor. 
The reasons for making singing a regular and 

systematic subject of instruction are that it ]^^^P^^^ °^ , 
affords rest and recreation, is a means of healthy singing. 
exercise, and cultivates the aesthetic, ethical, and 
religious sense. Governed by these ends, the 
aim and scope of singing as a subject of instruc- 
tion are clearly (1) to train the ear so as to ap- 
preciate and enjoy good music; and (2) to under- 
stand and be able to sing at sight any ordinary 
secular or sacred piece of music. 

2. The relation of drawing to manual training 
is so close that each may be said to be incom- 
plete as a subject of instruction without the (^ij^awin^to 
other. Both subjects also are closely connected other subjects. 
with geometrical measurements. Drawing as 
a form of expression is closely related to every 
other subject of study: to literature in illus- 
trated sketches, to arithmetic in plans and work- 
ing drawings, and to history and geography in 
diagrams and maps. In fact, it may be used as 
other forms of expression are used, and in some 
cases it may be used profitably when other means 



122 School Organization and Supervision 



Relation of 
singing to 
other subjects. 



Sequence 
of steps in 
drawing. 



fail to express the thought or feehng. The 
broadened scope of industrial training as a sub- 
je(^t of study gives it a central place in the school 
programme. Other subjects like arithmetic, lan- 
guage, geography, and elementary science may 
be closely related to it and be enriched by it. 

In the lower grades the placing of singing in 
close relation to the reading and nature exercises 
and to the morning talk is made very effective. 

The use of singing tones has come to be recog- 
nized as a valuable means of securing good 
speaking tones, JAist as the phonic exercises in 
spoken tones have been found helpful in develop- 
ing a good singing tone. Singing is also benefi- 
cial in connection with some of the physical ex- 
ercises in the lower grades. 

3. Skill in the subjects of this group, as in all 
technical subjects, will depend upon the fidelity 
with which the successive steps are taken. No- 
where is a close application of the maxims 
' ' from the known to the related unknown ' ' and 
'' from the simple to the complex " more neces- 
sary than in connection with these subjects. 

In the early stages of drawing as at present 
pursued there is a free expression of ideas 
through illustrative sketching without reference 
to principles. Attention is then given to form 
with special reference to correct proportion and 
outline, succeeded by exercises which give skill 
in rendering characteristic detail. Finally, there 
is sought to be secured a full and free expres- 
sion of grace of form and harmony of color. 



The Superintendent as Organizer 123 

In the mechanical side of drawing the succes- 
sive steps are: 

(1) exeircises in precision, as paper folding and 
cutting 

(2) exercises in accurate measurement 

(3) accurate drawing of surfaces of given di- 
mensions 

(4) conventional grouping of figures to express 
solidity 

(5) drawing to scale. 

So far as the occupations of the kindergarten 
are educative, they are but the beginning of a Progressive 
series of manual exercises which should have exercises in 
no break throughout the elementary school ™^.^V 

® '^ training. 

course. In the earlier stages of the course, 
paper and card board should be extensively used, 
and always in close connection with drawing, 
for the purpose mainly of developing manual 
dexterity. In the later stages exercises to teach 
the use of tools should be given, aud applications 
of what has been learned should be made in the 
manufacture of useful objects. 

In singing, care should be observed that the 
steps of technique be taken in a natural order, A natural order 
and that the demands upon the children keep '^^'^^^^• 
pace with their vocal powers and musical ap- 
preciation. 

4. Within the scope and time already laid 

-, ,, T, . T-j^i- • A minimum of 

down, there need be given no limitations in work in draw - 
drawing and manual training beyond what is ing and manual 
necessary under a class system of instruction, training. 
Here, as in other branches, the minimum of 
what is expected to be done may be prescribed. 



124 School Organization and Supervision 



Limitations in 
singing. 



The advan- 
tages of class 
instruction. 



Two ways of 
classification. 



together with extra or extended work to suit the 
circumstances. 

Limitations in singing should be made in two 
directions : first, in respect to the time of learn- 
ing the language of music; and, second, in re- 
spect to reach of tones. Before the language of 
music is learned the child needs to acquire a 
musical sense ; that is, a love for and apprecia- 
tion of music. For this reason two or three 
years of careful practice in simple phonic exer- 
cises and rote songs should be spent before sign 
reading is begun. Such exercises are also needed 
for a proper development of strength and sweet- 
ness of tone. The danger of overstraining 
young children's voices is avoided by confining 
the exercises during the first year to the lower 
tones. 

The classification and promotion of pupils. — The 
classification of a school is made upon the theory 
that a group of pupils of nearly equal ability 
can be taught more effectively together than 
separately. There is an undoubted saving of 
time in the presentation of facts or in a teaching 
exercise with a number of pupils together over 
the same exercise repeated to individual pupils. 
In addition to this advantage of classification 
there is the benefit of increased interest which is 
always felt in the contact of pupils with one an- 
other. 

There are in general two ways of classifica- 
tion — first, that of measuring off what it is 
thought pupils can do in given periods of time 
and putting them into corresponding groups; 



The Superintendent as Organizer 125 

and secondly that of separating the pupils ac- 
cording to ability into groups of a desirable size 
and allottiug the work of each group. By one 
method there is a fitting of the pupils to the 
work required and by the other there is an ad- 
justment of the work to the pupils. 

It can be readily seen that a formal following 
of the first named plan both in classification and 
promotions from class to class may be very sim- A faulty 
pie and smooth in its working. To the school °iethod of 

nn • 1 ^ • XT 1 • 1 -J. • promotion. 

official whose eye is upon the machine only it is 
all that can be desired. If there are eight or 
nine classes each with a year's work to do, the 
method of promotion is simply to put forward 
those who have passed the requirements, and to 
" keep back " those who have not passed the 
requirements. 

The ideal of mechanical smoothness is reached 
when the test of fitness for a higher class consists 
solely of passing an examination given by the 
school board or superintendent. Those who 
have attained the standard set of seventy or 
eighty per cent may go on and take up the sub- 
sequent work. Those who have fallen short of 
such a standard by one-half of one per cent must 
repeat the work of the year. Such formerly 
was the method pursued in many places and in 
some essential features is still pursued. 

The possible unfairness of the test of a single 
examination has caused many superintendents Promotions 
to modify and extend the test so far as to give single exam- 
the pupils a better opportunity to prove^their fit- inations. 
ness to do the required work. In recent years 



126 School Organization and Supervision 

other serious defects of prevailing methods of 
promotion have become apparent and many at- 
tempts have been made to meet the difficulties 
of adjusting the work to the needs of individual 
pupils. But under the best plans of promotions 
there are such inequalities of attainment in every 
large class that it' is found very difficult if not 
impossible fully to meet the needs of individual 
pupils. The duller or slower pupils of a class 
are either unduly stimulated or discouraged by 
the demands placed upon them, while at least 
some of the brighter or quicker pupils are being 
repressed and insufficiently employed. The fol- 
lowing brief statement of plans taken in part 
from actual experience will indicate how the ob- 
jections to class promotions may in a measure 
be overcome and will illustrate ways of adapta- 
tion to circumstances. 

Plan A. — Two sections, six months apart in 
attainments are placed in a room under a teacher, 
the advance section being designated A and the 
other B. These sections recite together in some 
subjects, such as singing, drawing, and nature 
study, while other exercises are given to the sec- 
Two sections tions separately. If thought best by the teacher, 
nve mon s worthy pupils of the lower section are permitted 
to do some of the work of the upper section with 
the expectation of passing into tlie next higher 
class with the latter named section. In some 
instances also, for the purpose of gaining time, 
pupils of one room are permitted to recite in one 
or two subjects with the pupils of a higher grade 
or class. 



apart. 



The Superintendent as Organizer 127 

One month before the close of a semester, 
teachers are asked to give to the superintendent 
of schools or supervising principal a list of pupils 
of whose promotion there is no doubt, another 
list of pupils whose detention in the section for ^^^ ^^^e of 
another half year is also unquestionable, and a p^p^jg ^^^y 
third list consisting of those whose place during considered. 
the next semester is, in the opinion of the 
teacher, uncertain. During the last month of 
the semester the superintendent or principal gives 
special attention to the last named list of pupils, 
questioning them upon important points, and 
under his direction all the teachers of each grade 
prepare examination questions for the doubtful 
pupils. The results of this test, together with the 
impressions of the teacher and superintendent, 
help the latter to determine whether the doubt- 
ful pupils shall be promoted unconditionally, or 
be required to repeat some or all of the last semes- 
ter's work, or be permitted to pass into the 
higher section on probation for one month. It ^ 

should be said that throughout the course special 
notices are sent to the parents of those pupils 
who are falling behind in their work. By this 
means the active assistance and co-operation of 
parents are secured. It will be seen that pupils 
under this plan are given an opportunity to do 
their best, and that not all the pupils are made 
to fear examinations which have to be passed by 
a few only. 

Plan B. — The interval between the grammar 
grades is one year in length, each primary grade 
being divided into sections according to the abil- 



128 School Organization and Supervision 



Intervals be- 
tween gram- 
mar grades 
one year. 



Allotted work 
for year gone 
over in five 
months. 



Progress in 
sequential sub- 
jects, the basis 
for promotion. 



ity of the pupils. As there are three or more 
sections in each primary grade, the intervals be- 
tween the classes there are so short as to permit 
frequent transfers from one class to another, 
the section rather than the grade being the unit 
of promotion. The nominal time for the com- 
pletion of the primary school course is three 
years, but many are able to complete it in much 
less time. 

In each of the grammar grades the essential 
features of the entire work prescribed for the 
year are taken during the first half year, and 
those pupils who have successfully performed 
the work, especially in such sequential subjects 
as arithmetic and grammar, at the end of the 
half year are promoted to the next higher grade. 
During the second half year a more minute study 
of the topics in language and arithmetic already 
pursued is made, by which an opportunity is 
afforded for new pupils to do the work of the 
grade, and for those who have done it imper- 
fectly to review it. By this plan bright pupils 
are given the opportunity of passing through 
two grades in one year. All promotions, special 
as well as regular, are made under the super- 
vision of the superintendent, the teacher's judg- 
ment being a large determining factor. 

Two characteristics of this plan are noticeable 
— first going over the allotted year's work in 
some subjects during the first half year, and 
secondly making the sequential subjects the chief 
guide in determining promotions. 

Plan C. — The sub-division of classes men- 



The Superintendent as Organizer 129 

tioned in plan B is carried into the grammar 
grades, so far as to enable pupils in all schools 
to pass easily from one grade to another. The Short intervals 
yearly programme of studies is placed before ^^^^^een 
each teacher, mainly as a guide to the order of 
work to be followed. If one of the sections is 
able in a given time to take up a portion of the 
work allotted to a subsequent year, it is permit- 
ted to do so, the teacher into whose hands the 
section goes beginning after necessary reviews 
where the previous teacher left off. Reliance is 
placed almost wholly upon the teacher's judgment 
as to the amount of work to be accomplished in 
the given time and also as to the ability of pu- 
pils to take up the subsequent work. By this 
plan a greater or less departure is made from 
the yearly standards of work allotted, and in- 
creased opportunity is afforded for individual 
promotions. 

Plan D. — Each grade of the primary school, 
covering three years, is separated into groups as 
in Plan B. The grammar school course covers 
six years' time of pupils of average ability. A Three rates of 
few weeks after the pupils enter the grammar ^pee m per- 

^ "^ ^ forming the 

school, in September, they are separated into same work. 
two divisions, according to ability, one division 
called grade A, and the other division called 
fourth grade. The pupils of grade A move for- 
ward with the aim of completing the prescribed 
grammar school course in four years, succeeding 
grades being called B, C, and D. The pupils of 
tlie fourth grade go forward more slowly, aim- 



Movable limits 
in grades. 



130 School Organization and Supervision 

ing to do each year only one-sixth of the work 
prescribed for the grammar school. 

The grades of these pupils in succeeding years 
are known as fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and 
ninth. "^ At the beginning of the second year 
the pupils of what was grade A, now called 
grade B, go into a room with pupils of the sixth 
grade. During the first part of the year the pu- 
pils of the sixth grade are in advance of the pu- 
pils of grade B, but, owing to the superior abihty 
of the latter division, they all come together 
during the latter part of the year. At the be- 
ginning of the third year precisely the same 
conditions exist as existed at the beginning of 
the first year. The pupils of grade C recite with 
the pupils of the seventh grade for a few weeks, 
when a readjustment is made, the abler pupils 
moving on at a pace sufficiently rapid to finish 
the course in two years, leaving the others to 
finish it in three years. 

The fifth grade pupils are alone in a room 
under one teacher during an entire year; the 
same is true of the eighth grade pupils. In all 
other rooms there are two grades or divisions, 
one belonging to the four years' course and the 
other to the six years' course. 

A pupil who begins with the fourth grade and 
remains in the slower division to the end of the 
course will graduate in six years, unless he has 

■^If there is a sub-primary class consisting of 
two or three groups of pupils, the grades in the 
primary and grammar school will be numbered 
from one to egiht. 



The Superintendent as Organizer 131 

to repeat. A pupil who begins with grade A 
and remains in the more rapid divisions to the 
end of the course will graduate in four years. 
A pupil at the end of the sixth grade or of grade 
B may go on with a division which will enable 
him to complete the course in five years. 

All promotions both from the grammar to the 
hiffh school and from srrade to 2:rade are made ^ 

° . . , Promotions 

by the class teachers, under the direction of the made by class 
principal and superintendent. No pre-announced teachers based 
examinations are given, but there are frequent ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ 
written reviews given by the teacher, the results 
of which help to determine the fitness of pupils 
to go forward. One feature of the plan which 
has helped it to succeed is that of the employ- 
ment of a special teacher in each building, whose 
business it is to assist pupils who are behind in 
their classes in any studies, or who are trying to 
get into an advanced class. This assistance, how- 
ever, is no essential part of the plan. It may 
properly be used with advantage in carrying out 
any plan. 

By this plan it will be seen that the entire 
grammar school course msij be finished in four, 
five or six years, depending upon the strength 
or ability of the pupils, and all without the omis-. 
sion or repetition of any part of the course. 
The plan can best be carried out in large schools ; 
but the essential features of it may be adopted in 
•a school of two or three hundred pupils of the 
grammar grade. 

Plan jE'.— Each class or grade of pupils is di- 
vided into three or four sections in the most im- 



132 School Organization and Supervision 



Class divided 
into three or 
four sections. 



Grading and 
thoroughness 
applied to but 
few subjects. 



The needs of 
individual 
pupils met. 



portant subjects only. In all other subjects the 
sections of a room are heard together in recita- 
tion. The sections go forward as rapidly as they 
are able to go independent of grade require- 
ments. Indis^idual pupils are placed at any time 
in such sections as will enable them to work to 
the best advantage to themselves, especially in 
such sequential subjects as reading and arithme- 
tic in the lower grades and grammar and arith- 
metic in the upper grades. 

By this plan grading and thoroughness are 
made features of a few subjects only, all other 
subjects being taught quite independent of grad- 
ing or of amounts required. This plan affords 
great opportunity for individual promotions. 

Plan F, — Promotions in the primary school 
are made without regard to fixed dates. The 
half yearly interval between classes exists after 
the fourth year, two classes being admitted into 
the high school each year. Much dependence is 
placed upon class management to meet the needs 
of individual pupils. Minimum requirements 
are made for each class in every subject. When 
these requirements are met by a pupil in any 
subject, he is excused from recitation in that 
subject for a longer or shorter time with the un- 
derstanding that he will spend the time thus 
gained in meeting the requirements of other 
subjects in which he is interested. 

In many cases the responsibility of deciding 
how the extra time shall be spent rests upon the 
pupils, their needs as well as their interest being 
considered. The amount of time taken from a 



The Superintendent as Organizer 133 

given subject varies from a part of a recitation 

to a dozen or more recitations. In some cases, "^^^^ *^^^" 

■ 111 -1 X £« ii 11 from one sub- 

notably when a pupil enters from another school .^ ^^^ -^^ 
in which he has covered a part of the required to another, 
work, he may be excused from an entire term's 
recitation in a given subject, the extra time 
being given to working up some subject in which 
he is behind the class. 

Besides offering a good opportunity for fre- Frequent 
quent special promotions the plan gives addi- special promo- 
tional study time in school to some pupils, allows ^^^'^®- 
time for the teacher to give special attention to 
pupils who most need attention, affords oppor- 
tunity for pupils to develop their latent powers, 
and helps to encourage independence and a feel- 
ing of responsibility in pupils. 

Departmental iustruction. — By departmental 
instruction is meant the instruction by one teach- 
er of the pupils of two or more grades or schools 
in one subject of study or in one group of sub- 
jects. This plan, which is quite extensively fol- 
lowed in high schools, has been tried to some ex- 
tent in the elementary schools, with varying 
degrees of success. 

Among the advantages claimed for it by those 
who have tried it are (1) better adaptation of Advantages of 
work to the tastes and abilities of teachers, (2) departmental • 
a better preparation for and greater intelligence 
in the work on the part of teachers, (3) increased 
interest in the studies on the part of pupils. 

The disadvantages of the plan as viewed by 
some observers are (1) a tendency to narrowness 
and irresponsibility on the part of teachers, (2) 



134 School Organization and Supervision 



Disadvan- 
tages. 



Departmental 
instruction in 
special branch- 
es. 



Grammar 
schools and 
high schools 
compared. 



laxity of discipline, (3) a decreased opportunity 
and inclination on the part of teachers to cor- 
relate the studies, (4) lessened opportunity for 
teachers to become acquainted with individual 
pupils and to meet their needs. 

Present experience seems to indicate that de- 
partmental instruction is more generally ap- 
proved in such subjects as drawing, singing, and 
physical culture than in the so-called regular 
studies. But as this preference is due largely 
to the fact that regular teachers are not as a 
rule well qualified to teach the subjects named, 
there is reason to believe that all subjects of the 
curriculum will be treated in the same way 
when teachers become thoroughly prepared for 
their work. 

From a theoretical standpoint, it would seem 
that some of the advantages of departmental 
teaching which are quite generally admitted to 
exist in high schools must be gained by such 
teaching in the grammar schools. It is claimed 
by some that the difference of conditions in the 
two kinds of schools ought not to be so great as 
to warrant a wholly different plan of classifica- 
tion and teaching. It is true that the treatment 
of subjects should be very broad in the lower 
grades and that increased specialization is de- 
manded in the higher grades. From this it might 
be argued that it would be better for one teacher 
to give instruction in several branches to pupils 
of the lower grades than for the subjects to be 
apportioned among several teachers. But this 
argument would not prove that there can be no 



The Saperintendent as Organizer 135 

profitable specialization in the elementary schools. 
Certainly it cannot justify a sudden and radical 
change of plan in the beginning of the high 
school course. 

There is little doubt of the desirability of hav- 
ing one teacher for all subjects in the lower one teacher 
grades of the elementary schools. By continued for all sub- 
contact only can the teacher become thoroughly ^^^*^ ^^ \oyfQx 

grades. 
acquainted with the children and their needs. 

On this account the teacher should be with the 
same class of pupils if possible a longer time 
than one year, a plan quite as useful for the 
regular teacher as for the departmental teacher. 
As the pupils advance they might gradually 
come under departmental instruction. For ex- ^ limited 
ample in the fifth or sixth year one subject ^°^^^° ^ 

^ J J partmental 

might be taught by a teacher other than the teaching in 
regular teacher, and in the following year one or upper grades 
two more subjects might be treated in the same ^ grammar 

'* ^ schools. 

way. By such a course the regular teacher 
would have a gradually lessened charge of his 
pupils, until in the highest grade a minimum of 
seventy or seventy- tive percentum of time is 
reached in which he is in his own room. 

It would seem that a proper adjustment of 
work would warrant a teacher's having only one 
subject or two closely correlated subjects to Possible 

i. ^ L • -\ £ 1 • rnu x methods of 

teach outside or his room. The one or two departmental 
special subjects might very properly be given in instruction, 
gi'ades quite near to the grade of pupils over 
whom the teacher has regular charge. For ex- 
ample the teacher of a seventh grade might have 
charge of the geography in the sixth, seventh and 



136 School Organization and Supervision 

eighth grades; or the teacher of an eighth grade 
might have charge of the drawing in the three 
highest grades. 

As to a choice of subjects for speciaHzation 
cj , . , . several circumstances should be considered, the 

Subjects for ' 

specialization, first being the special choice and ability of the 
teachers. In a large building or in a group of 
schools, the teachers are likely to differ greatly 
in natural and acquired ability, and therefore 
each teacher should be given as far as possible 
that subject to teach in two or more grades 
which he can teach best. 

Again those subjects should be selected for de- 
partmental instruction which are the most tech- 
nical, especially if there are no special super- 
visors for those subjects. Such subjects as mu- 
sic, drawing, penmanship, nature study, and 
physical training involve points of difficulty 
which can be w^orked out to best advantage by 
one who gives special attention to them. 

Again it is sometimes advisable to select those 
subjects for departmental instruction which are 
not closely graded and which may be taught 
to two or three grades of pupils at once. The 
subjects above named are, on this account, to 
be preferred for special teaching to those subjects 
which may have to be taught by grades or sec- 
tions. Moreover if the special teacher takes an 
entire school or room of pupils to teach, there 
is less likely to be laxity of discipline than when 
the same class of pupils have to be taught in 
sections. 

To prevent a too great specialization of teach- 



The Superintendent as Organizer 137 

ing and to facilitate the needed correlation of 

studies, there should be frequent consultations of ^^ ^ ®^ ^" 

' ^ guards. 

teachers for the purpose of laying out the cor- 
related subjects and of apportioning the time and 
work so that each subject shall have its proper 
share of attention. 

Child stiidj^ — Every superintendent and school 
board feels obliged sooner or later to consider 
how far the pupils of the schools are to become 
subjects of inquiry respecting their condition of The need of 
body and mind and the circumstances under child study. 
which they are carrying on the work of the 
schools. There can be no question as to the de- 
sirability of making such inquiry on the part of 
teachers as will enable them to reach most effi- 
ciently the needs of each pupil. It may be said 
that this is already done by good teachers, but 
even good teachers need the direct assistance and 
cooperation of the supervising authorities fully 
to accomplish the ends most desired. 

The most obvious need of individual inquiry 

• • i. X i.1 1 -1 j-j.- n n Individual in- 

is in respect to the physical condition or the pu- ^.^, ^^^ ^^^ 
pils. Extended investigations have revealed the ing the physi- 
most alarming physical defects in the pupils of cai condition 
all grades of schools, especially defects of sight ^ ^^^^ ^" 
and hearing. * Without a knowledge of hygienic 
conditions and physical defects, teachers cannot 
properly meet the needs of their pupils either of 
body or of mind. To such ignorance more per- 
haps than to any other cause may be attributed 
the continuance and too frequently the increase 

^For reports of investigations respecting the 
sight and hearing of pupils see Appendix F. 



138 School Organization and Supervision 



A record of 
pupils' inter- 
ests and char- 
acteristics. 



Separation of 
all abnormally 
defective chil- 
dren. 



of physical ills, while on account of it some of 
the modern mistakes of both over and under 
pressure may be due. It becomes advisable 
therefore for provision to be made whereby 
all the essential facts shall be ascertained re- 
specting the sight, hearing, and general health 
of all the pupils. This should be done by the 
teachers under expert direction and the facts 
should be carefully noted and preserved.^ 

While the physical condition of the pupils 
should be definitely noted, a knowledge of their 
mental characteristics is scarcely less important. 
Such facts as each pupil's deepest interest and 
chief characteristic and the extent of his mental 
power in various directions occasionally recorded 
by the teacher will be a valuable aid not only to 
the teachers making the observations but also to 
the subsequent teachers. The Life Book made 
in the schools of France and the record of cer- 
tain facts pertaining to each pupil which is kept 
in some of the schools of this country indicate 
a kind of child study which may well challenge 
the attention of progressive teachers, f 

Special schools and classes. — Schools for defec- 
tives. — It ought to be assumed that no child 
shall be allowed to attend the regular public 
school whose presence in the school has a deter- 
rent or demoralizing effect upon the other pu- 

■^ Notes respecting school hygiene, the meth- 
ods and means of ascertaining the physical con- 
dition of pupils are given in Appendix F. 

t Some of the records used for these observa- 
tions are given in Chapters IX and XII. 



The Superintendent as Organizer 139 

pils. For the sake of all concerned, abnormally 
defective children, such as the blind, deaf-mute, 
and feeble-minded, should be educated in special 
schools supported either by the state or by the 
municipality in which such children live. 

For blind and deaf children and for the milder 
cases of feeble-minded children, special local Special local 
schools may be established in places where the schools. 
number of such children warrant it, the chil- 
dren living at home. Attendance upon these 
institutions should be obligatory on the part of 
all defectives not otherwise provided for. The 
home school for defectives should be so organized 
that no teacher will have more than twelve or 
fifteen pupils to care for at any time, a large 
part of the work being with individual children. 
A fuller treatment of this subject will be found 
in chapter XI. 

Provision for individual instruction. — For 
simply backward pupils or for those who need ex- ^^^^^ ^^, °^^?* 

. It r- |.|^g needs of 

tra individual assistance to enable them to work backward cMi- 
profitably with a given class, special schools or dren and to 
classes may be formed. In a school building or give more at- 
district consisting of three hundred pupils there viduai pupils. 
are likely to be fifteen or twenty of such pupils as 
need the special attention of a superior teacher. 
No attempt at grading these pupils should be 
made unless there are enough for two or more 
schools in a building or neighborhood, in w^hich 
case the division might be made on lines of pro- 
ficiency in reading and arithmetic or in reading 
and writing. 

One means of giving special assistance to in- 



14-0 School Organization and Supervision 

dividual pupils is the employment of an extra 
teacher who hears no recitations but passes from 
seat to seat to give pupils such assistance as 
they need.'^ 

Vacation schools. — The demoralizing influence 
of idleness or want of regular occupation is no 
where more apparent than among children in 
cities and villages during the long summer vaca- 
tion, and the demoralization is scarcely less ap- 
parent in some of the seaside and mountain re- 
sorts. To remedy the harm in some degree, a 
few cities and large towns have maintained 
vacation schools with most excellent results. 
The programme of these schools is usually 
The pro- quite different from that of the ordinary school, 

f^^T^o^r^Iil being given largely to nature study, reading, 
industrial exercises of various kinds, and physi- 
cal exercises, including interesting plays and 
games. It is also found useful in some vacation 
schools to offer opportunity for a limited amount 
of study in some such sequential branches as 
reading, arithmetic, and grammar, by means of 
which pupils may work into a higher grade in 
the fall term of school. These schools may also 
afford opportunity for good field work in geogra- 
phy as well as in geology and botany. 

So popular have summer schools become that 
it has been found difficult in some places to meet 
the demand for them. The hope is that they 
will become universal, and be as vital a part of 

* This is known as the Batavia plan, having 
been introduced in the schools of Batavia, N. Y., 
by Superintendent John Kennedy. 



cation schools. 



The Superintendent as Organizer 141 

the public school system as the more strenuous 
sessions of other portions of the year. 

It is a fair question whether these schools 
should not be placed upon the same basis of 
compulsory attendance as other schools. No Attendance 
doubt the promise of such work as the above ^^^?^ summei 

^ session might 

programmes offer will be sufficient inducement be compulsory, 
for a large majority of the children to attend 
school during several weeks of the summer. 
For the protection of the community and of a 
few idle and disorderly children, the summer 
session of the schools might very properly be re- 
garded as a part of the compulsory school year, 
but in this case the school officials should be 
given full authority to excuse from attendance 
at the summer session all children who are pro- 
vided with regular employement, or who are 
looked after with a reasonable degree of care by 
parents or guardians. 

Evening schools. — The notable response of 
the people in some of the large cities of the 
country to the proffered evening use of school 
buildings for educational purposes suggests the 
advisability of a universal adoption of the plan. 
In New York and Boston thousands of persons 
beyond school age during certain seasons throng 
nightly the school-rooms for the purpose of 
receiving instruction in various lines of study 
and practice. There is no reason to suppose 
that the response would be less marked in many 
smaller places if the same or similar advantages 
were offered. 

There is probably no other outlay from which 



142 School Organization and Supervision 



Outlay for 
evening; 
schools justi- 
fiable. 



Evening 
schools for 
ordinary 
branches. 



Evening 
drawing 
schools. 



Evening high 
schools. 



there ate so many immediate and direct results 
as that which is made for well administered 
evening schools. Of coarse the money for their 
maintenance must not be diverted from revenues 
needed for the support of the ordinary day 
schools. The relative cost of the evening in- 
struction in many subjects may be made consid- 
erably less per pupil than that of the day schools, 
while some of the expense for evening iDstruc- 
tion may very properly be borne by those who 
receive its benefits. 

There are four kinds of evening schools to 
which attention may be given. 

(1) evening schools for instruction in the ordi- 
nary branches to persons beyond the school age. 
These schools have been in existence for a 
long time in many of the larger places, and have 
been found very useful when properly conducted. 
Much of the w^ork done in these schools is neces- 
sarily individual, altliough in large cities a classi- 
fication somewhat similar to that of the day 
schools may be made. 

(2) evening schools for instruction in drawing. 
These schools are best patronized in manufactur- 
ing places by apprentices and artisans who need 
assistance in direct connection with their work 

(3) evening high schools. These are estab- 
lished only in large cities where there are many 
graduates of the grammar schools who have not 
found it possible to continue their studies in the 
day high school. There are also others not 
graduates of the grammar school who can profit 
by the instruction in high school subjects. 



The Superintendent as Organizer 143 

(4) eveDing industrial schools in which various 
kinds of industries are taught. It is to these Educational 
schools that the term ^' educational centre " has 
been applied and in which the unusual interest 
above alluded to has been manifested."^ 

The qualification and appointment of teachers — 

There is little need of urging the desirability of 
securing for the schools teachers of the highest 
possible qualifications. Every one is ready to 
assent to Emerson's oft quoted estimate of the 
importance of the teacher as compared with 
other conditions of education; but not all are 
agreed as to what requirements for teachers 
should be actually made. Few of our American 
states are yet ready to adopt the standards set 
by the requirements of Germany and France 
while there doubtless are many people who fail 
to see that such requirements are either neces- 
sary or advisable. 

All are agreed in theory at least that the first ^ ^^^ ^^^^.^j 
and necessary qualifications for a teacher is a character 
good moral character, coupled with a refined essential. 
and cultivated personality. 

All too would insist upon a fair degree of 
scholarship as a necessary part of the teacher's 
equipment. In actual practice however, as shown Scholarship 
by examination requirements, there are varied 
notions as to the extent of knowledge needed 
for a teacher, from the idea that a teacher needs 
to know only what he expects to teach to the 
idea that he should have a thorough knowledge 

*Some account of the work carried on in edu- 
cational centres is given in Appendix E. 



144 School Organization and Supervision 



Professional 
knowledge 
and skill. 



Use of 
psychology 



of subjects far in advance of the immediate needs 
of his pupils. Well established systems of edu- 
cation abroad demand the last named standard 
of acquirements for the teachers, and the trend 
of sentiment and practice in America is in this 
direction. 

The acquiring of knowledge presupposes a 
knowing mind, and the power of imparting 
knowledge is enhanced by a knowledge of how 
it is best acquired. The teacher therefore must 
add to his knowledge of subjects a* knowledge 
of mind and its processes. This knowledge of 
psychology to be effective must be not merely 
general and theoretical; it must be particular 
and practical, a kind of knowledge which will 
furnish a basis for a good philosophy of method 
which all teachers should possess. 

Whether we agree with the report of the Com- 
mittee of Fifteen, which assumes that the prin- 
ciples of education " are rational inferences from 
psychological laws ",* or with Professor James 
in the thought that it is not possible for definite 
programmes and methods of instruction to be 
deduced from psychology, t few will now deny 
that the teacher will be a better teacher for 
knowing something of the " science of the 
mind's laws ". Even Professor James admits 
this when he says that although the methods of 
teaching are not derived from psychology they 

^Report of the Committee of Ffteen, pub- 
lished by the American Book Company, 1885, 
p. 25. 

tTalks on Psychology and Life's Ideals, p. 7. 



The Superintendent as Organizer 145 

must agree with it, and that ' ' psychology ought 
certainly to give the teacher radical helps. "^ 

In recognizing the worth to a teacher of a 
knowledge of psychology, we need not in any 
way disparage that individual '' inventiveness 
and sympathetic concrete observation " which 
Professor James makes so much of. Add to this 
equipment of a teacher those other features of 
professional training mentioned in the Report of 
the Committee of Fifteen, and we have a stan- 
dard of qualifications which is everywhere rec- 
ognized as complete. 

Recognizing this threefold standard of quali- 
fications for teachers, viz. : a high personality, 
good scholarship, and efficient professional abili- 
ty, the superintendent asks with much concern 
how persons possessing such qualifications may 
be secured. Upon the assumption that the peo- 
ple are interested in the schools to the extent of j^i^thod of 
giving freely to their support and of electing securing good 
only able and disinterested persons on the school teachers. 
board, the problem ought not to be a difficult one 
to solve. The minimum qualifications of teach- 
ers needed should be clearly set forth, and the 
superintendent by personal examination or by 
inspection of their work should make his nomi- 
nations, from which alone teachers should be 
selected by the board. Sometimes a single nom- 
ination may be made for a given vacancy, the 
board either confirming or rejecting the nom- 
ination. 

The least which should be demanded of candi- 

"Ibid, p. 9. 



146 School Organization and Supervision 



Minimum 
qualifications 
of teachers 
defined. 



The most 
diflicult prob- 
lem in country 
districts. 



Examinations. 



dates for positions in primary and grammar 
schools is the equivalent of a two years' normal 
school training, and for positions in high schools 
the equivalent of a four years' course in college 
or normal school. At present the standard of 
qualifications for teachers here mentioned is fully 
met in many cities and large towns, and the re- 
sults fully justify the extraordinary efforts that 
have been made by the people and school officials 
of these places. 

The most difficult problem is to be met in 
country districts, where the means of carrying 
on the schools is generally quite limited and 
where the expectations and demands are fre- 
quently of a low order. Mention has been made 
of the duty of the state to provide liberally for 
the support of schools and to encourage a liberal 
policy of local taxation.* Mention also has 
been made of the necessity of designating in 
some way a minimum of qualifications for all 
the teachers of a state. t If all this is done and 
if the system of supervision is at all adequate, it 
ought not to be a difficult matter to bring the 
schools of country districts up to the standard of 
the schools now maintained in the larger towns. 

The state may materially assist the authorities 
of both larger and smaller municipalities by in- 
augurating a system of examinations such as is 
maintained in Germany and in one or two of 
our American states ; and by requiring that this 
standard of qualifications shall be maintained by 
all the cities and towns. 



•5f 



Pp. 17-20. fP. 15. 



The Superintendent as Organizer 147 

Of course the best test of a teacher's abihty 
is actual work in the schoolroom. Instead of a . ^ , 

Actual work in 

formal examination upon the professional side, the schoolroom 
whenever it is convenient candidates for posi- the best test. 
tions may be asked to take a class or school for 
half a day or to serve as substitutes for a time. 
Superintendents also will find it helpful to visit 
the schools in which candidates are teaching for 
the purpose of ascertaining their ability as teach- 
ers. There are few duties of the superintendent 
more important than that of making a wise 
selection of teachers, and he can well afford to 
go long distances to be sure that no errors of 
judgment are made. 

As a practical measure of precaution it is well 
in the selection of teachers, especially in the case 
of untried teachers, to place them on probation Temporary 

£ T-xjx- ji, iu u J appointments. 

for a limited time, and when they have proved 
their competence to elect them for an unlimited 
time subject to removal only for cause. 

Text-books find supplies. — If the rule is followed 
as suggested (see page 43) that " no books shall 
be selected by the board in opposition to his [the 
superintendent's] recommendation" the respons- 
ibility of having good text-books in the schools 
rests upon the superintendent. 

While a superintendent may be able by a 

careful inspection to see the good features of a " f ^^. ^^ ^ 

'- ^ selectmg text 

text-book, he will always welcome the advice of books. 
his best teachers. If therefore a change in text- 
books seems desirable it will be found helpful to 
give to one and another a text-book under con- 
templation and to ask their opinion of its merits. 



148 School Organization and Supervision 



Few changes 
of text-books 
should be 
made. 



Objections to 
free text-book 
system. 



There need be no haste in making the decision, 
and plenty of time should be given for a com- 
parison of views. It may even be well to put a 
set of books into the hands of a class of pupils 
for trial under one of the teachers, and watch 
the result. It may be found that a text- book 
whose selection and arrangement of topics are 
to all appearance good is not under ordinary con- 
ditions found satisfactory in actual practice. 

It should be borne in mind by school boards 
and superintendents that frequent changes of 
text-books are to be avoided. The teachers 
should be made to realize that the value of their 
work depends more upon them than upon the 
text- book. This precaution is especially needed 
in places where the parents have to purchase the 
books. The expense of text-books in a large 
family is sufficiently burdensome when there are 
no changes of books, and when they may be 
passed on from the older to the younger children. 
If changes must be made it seems but right that 
some method of exchange be resorted to, and that 
the extra expense if any be borne by the city or 
town. 

As to the question of free text-books some- 
thing may l)e said upon both sides. The objec- 
tions most commonly heard are: 

(1) the books are likely to be used too long 

(2) the books are carriers of disease 

(3) the plan of free text-books prevents the 
gathering of educative books in the home. 

Among the advantages claimed for the plan 
are the following : 



The Superintendent as Organizer 149 

(1) a necessary condition of a free and compul- 
sory system of schools Advantages of 

(2) an increase of attendance upon the schools i^Q^j^g ' 

(3) economy of time and money 

(4) training of the children in the exercise of 
care of things not their own 

(5) the removal of a serious burden of ex- 
pense from parents 

(6) convenience in having books on hand when 
needed. 

It must be confessed that the arguments in 
favor of the free text-book system are more 
w^eighty than those upon the other side. Some 
of the objections raised may be met by letting 
the pupils as far as possible have the same books Waysof avoid- 
from term to term and even from year to jeRY, ii^K objections. 
by frequently disinfecting the books, by letting 
the pupils have full possession of the books after 
using them for a certain time, and by permittiug 
parents to buy individual text-books for their 
children when they desire to do so. 

Some of the advantages claimed for the fur- 
nishing of free text-books may also be claimed Free supplies. 
for free supplies, such as paper^ pens, pencils, etc. 

The cost of supplying text-books and supplies 
to all the pupils will of course be greater during 
the first year than it will be afterwards. It will Probable cost 
vary in the different grades; the average annual ^f free text 
expense for all the schools, high schools as well i'<^f^ks and 
as elementary ought not to be less than si. 25 per ^^'^^^^ ^^^' 
pupil, and will not be likely to be more than §1 .75.* 

*The average annual amount paid for text- 
books and supplies in Massachusetts for the ten 
years ending 1902 was $1.62 for each pupil. 



CHAPTER VII 



Relative im- 
portance of 
supervision. 



The superin- 
tendent's 
duties as 
inspector. 



THE SUPEKINTENDENT AS SUPERVISOR 

Reference has been made to the double duty 
of a superintendent of schools — that of organ- 
ization and that of supervision. Important as 
the duties of organization may be, the duties of 
oversight and wise direction of school work are 
far more so. 

That these more important duties are most 
frequently neglected is a matter of common ob- 
servation. One possible reason of the neglect of 
this part of the superintendent's duties is the fact 
that they are more professional in character than 
his other duties, and demand a greater degree 
of skill in their successful accomplishment. It 
is comparatively easy for a superintendent to 
allow his time to be wholly absorbed in matters 
relating to the course of studies, attendance of 
pupils, classification, and the like, not to speak of 
the duty of attending to details of repairs, sup- 
plies, and business accounts, which some superin- 
tendents seem willing to assume and which some 
school boards are only too wilhng to put upon 
them. 

School inspection. — The duties of a superin- 
tendent of schools as supervisor are those of in- 
specting, examining, adv^ising, and directing. 
As inspector, the superintendent should ascer- 
tain, through observation and inquiry 

(150) 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 151 

(1) the condition of the buildings and premises, 
and the character of the ventilation, heating, 
and lighting of the schoolrooms 

(2) the attendance of pupils 

(3) the condition of the school, including the 
teacher's personality and method of teaching, 
the school equipment, and the work done by the 
pupils. 

Enough is said elsewhere respecting the con- 
struction and care of school buildings and inspection of 
grounds * to show the part which the superin- school buiid- 
tendent may assume in the inspection of what ^^^^ ^^ 

^ ^ grounds. 

may be called the '' externals " of the schools. 
Without permitting this part of his duties to 
absorb much of his time, he will find it neces- 
sary to have enough direct knowledge of the 
condition and needs of the buildings and their 
equipment and surroundings to co-operate with 
all concerned in the securing and maintaining of 
convenient and healthful accommodations for 
the schools. 

In matters of school attendance the superin- 
tendent will work mainly through teachers and Cases of non- 
attendance officers. Needed information of this attendance of 
kind will be gained by means of records and re- noted. 
ports. He will however need to take frequent 
note of cases of non-attendance and their causes 
so as to advise intelligently as to a proper course 
to pursue, both in general and in particular cases. f 

* See pp. 61-64:; also Chapter IX and Appen- 
dix F. 

t For the duties of truant officers and the treat- 
ment of truants see pp. 47-49 and Appendix E. 



152 School Organization and Supervision 

It is perhaps needless to say that the element 
of a well-defined purpose is as important in the 
A well defined inspection of schools as it is in teaching. The 
purpose neces- superintendent who in his visits wanders from 
school to school with no definite purpose really 
accomplishes little. He may by chatting pleas- 
antly with the teachers and pupils have a happy 
time and perhaps make himself a welcome vis- 
itor, bat these ends can be quite as well attained 
in a wise effort to make the work of the school 
more effective. This is done by inquiry and ob- 
servation along definite lines, with such sugges- 
tions, directions, and advice as will lead both 
teachers and pupils to work together with a 
common purpose. 

In a given week or month the superintendent 
may wish to give special attention to -a branch 
of study that is to be treated at the monthly 
teachers' meeting. At times he may desire 
especially to follow up certain suggestions he has 
made either to the teachers together or to a few 
teachers separately. Again, certain points of 
observation of use to the school board at its 
regular meeting may claim his attention. In 
all his visits he should not forget that the con- 
ditions of the school require him to bring to it 
cheer^ndbeii ^Iways a Spirit of cheer and inspiring enthusi- 
fuiness needed, asm. Whenever he find himself in a despond- 
ent state of mind or in a condition of physical 
discomfort, or in any way unfitted to appreciate 
the good efforts and intentions of the teachers, 
he should, if he works at all, perform other 
duties than those of inspection. We may go 



asked and 
answered. 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 153 

still further and say that if the superintendent's 
habitual attitude toward this part of his work is 
not that of courage, helpfulness, and unbounded // 
sympathy, he would better turn to some other * 
field of labor. 

The superintendent's chief duty as inspector 
will be of course in relation to the actual work Questions to be 
of the school. The following questions should constantly 
find frequent and definite answers in his mind in 
respect to every school which he visits. Are the 
pupils constantly and profitably occupied in their 
study or ' ' busy worii ' ' ? Are the tasks assigned 
such as keep every pupil at work when not re- 
citing V Is the teaching such as to lead the pu- 
pils to acquire clear ideas of the subject or topic 
presented *? Is the questioning of a kind to lead 
the pupils to think for themselves and to express 
themselves in an original way V Is opportunity 
afforded in the recitation for the pupils to express 
fully what they have to say of the subject in 
hand ? Is self-reliance encouraged in the study 
as well as in the recitation of pupils ? Is the writ- 
ten language carefully done, and is it such as to 
encourage habits of clearness, correctness, force, 
and originality of expression ? Are habits of 
self-control being formed in the life of the 
school from motives of a regard for the rights 
and feelings of others ? These and other well- 
defined questions should be constantly asked and 
answered by the superintendent as he inspects 
the work of the schools. 

As the information thus gained will be not for 
his own benefit alone, but for the use of the 



154: School Organization and Supervision 



How notes of 
inspection 
should be 
taken. 



A 'notebook in 
the teacher's 
desk. 



teachers and school board, it may be necessary 
for him to take notes of what he sees. Some 
objection has been made to the takmg of notes 
in the schooh'oom by the superintendent. It is 
true that teachers may be embarrassed by such 
note-taking if it is done openly and frequently, 
and if they do not understand the use to which 
the notes are to be put. If, however, the notes 
are taken quietly at the close of a visit or dur- 
ing three or five minutes of his visit, some of 
the objection will be removed. If in addition 
to this precaution the superintendent makes it 
known that the notes are to be used mainly for 
the teacher's benefit, either directly in a private 
conference or in a teachers' meeting, there is 
likely to be little objection to the practice by the 
teacher. A good method will be for the super- 
intendent at first carefully to observe the work 
of the school without taking notes., After a 
time he may go to the teacher's desk, and, after 
examining the register of attendance and the 
written work of pupils, write in his notebook 
such observations as he wishes to preserve for 
reference. This may be done quietly, and with- 
out attracting attention. 

Some superintendents find it useful to have a 
notebook in a given place at the teacher's desk, 
and to make sach notes in it as the teacher needs 
to know, such as his opinion of the good and 
poor points of a given recitation, or what better 
method of teaching or examining might be used. 
The teacher uses the same book for any questions 
or remarks she may wish to note. It can be 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 155 

readily seen that a judicious use of such a note- 
book may be of great value to both^teachers and 
superintendents. 

A word of warning is needed for some super- 
intendents who are inclined to be too analytical 
in their inspection of the personality and work 
of teachers. While the inquiry should be upon rpj^g inquiry 
definite lines, it need not necessarily be upon not to be too 
many lines or upon very minute ones. If the ^iinute. 
results of an over-refined inquiry become known 
to the teacher whose work is inspected, there is 
likely to result a sensitiveness and attention to 
particulars which will seriously interfere with 
her work. 

Two outlines issued by reputable superintend- 
ents will illustrate the possible dangers of this 
kind of inquiry. The first outline is an '' un- 
classified Isit of one hundred suggestive questions 
for self -examining teachers ". Some of the 
questions are undoubtedly good ones, and may Examples of a 

at one time or another be asked by conscientious ^*^^,^ ^f^ 

•^ analysis. 

teachers; but it is doubtful if so many as one 
hundred or even ten questions, however good 
they may be, should be put before teachers for 
constant reference. Teachers above all persons 
need to be as free as possible from the mechan- 
ism of their work, and much introspection is of 
doubtful value. 

The other outline referred to is for the guid- 
ance of superintendents, and consists of one 
hundred and seventy questions to be answered 
by them in their inspection of the work of teach- 
ers. Here again there is danger of over-analysis 



156 School Organization and Supervision 



Danger of 
over-estimat- 
ing unimpor- 
tant features. 



Three parties 
concerned in 
the superin- 
tendent's in- 
spection. 



in estimating the worth of a teacher. Some of 
the questions must necessarily be trivial and 
comparatively unimportant, and some of them, 
it must be granted, are too severe a test even for 
the best teachers. The standard of qualifica- 
tions for teachers should be high but it should 
stop far short of perfection. 

In rating the work of teachers there is danger 
of over-estimating those features which are not 
satisfactory or of making comparatively unim- 
portant features overshadow the important ones. 
If for example the sole test of a teacher's worth 
is his manner in the class or the order he secures 
in his school, unmindful of the way it is secured, 
an injustice is likely to be done to that teacher; 
or if he is judged only by the intellectual attain- 
ments of his pupils or by their attainments in 
only one or two directions the same error may 
be made. 

The effectiveness of the superintendent's in- 
spection will be determined both by the charac- 
ter of his observations and by the use he makes 
of them. The three parties most intimately 
concerned in such observations are the school 
board, the teachers, and the superintendent. 
What the school board most needs to know for 
its guidance is whether the work of a given 
teacher is efficient ; and that, after all, is what 
the teacher himself most needs to know, but 
with this difference, that the teacher needs to be 
told such details of judgment as will best assist 
him both by supporting him in good ways and by 
helping him to improve in ways that are not good. 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 157 

Great care should be taken in making personal 
criticisms ov suggestions to teachers, lest there be 
misunderstanding and friction between them and 
the superintendent. The three elements which 
should characterize criticism of any kind are tact, _ . 
fairness, and kindness. In recognizing the good sonai criticism. 
points of a teacher's work, and in always sug- 
gesting another and better way than the way 
criticised, the superintendent gains the teacher's 
respect and confidence. In most of this con- 
structive criticism the teachers should not be 
made to feel that they are directed to teach in a 
particular way. The better way should be in- 
telligently and freely followed, or not at all. Of 
course, if the neglect or the poor method em- 
ployed is of a serious nature, and is persisted in, 
there is little that the superintendent can do but 
to report to the school board the nature of the 
neglect or error, always avoiding the appearance 
of anything like an exercise of arbitrary au- 
thority. 

It is needless perhaps to say that the visits of 
the superintendent should disturb the school as 
little as possible. It is doubful if anything be- 
yond a pleasant, quiet greeting to the teacher ^^^^' mterrup- 

1 . , • J J 1 • n . n •, tions of the 

upon his entrance mto the room is desirable, regular work 
Even the kindly " Good morning, children ", by 
the superintendent, and the children's response 
in concert, may become perfunctory and mean- 
ingless. 

Few interrruptions of the recitation by ques- 
tions or remarks from the superintendent should 
be made, especially if the questions or remarks 



158 School Organization and Supervision 



Record of 
each teachers' 
work in par- 
ticular lines. 



are purposeless or without meaning to the 
teacher. Individual work with the pupils at 
their seats is also no part of the superintendent's 
function unless for any reason he needs to know 
the ability of certain pupils along spe<nal lines. 

Record of inspection. — While it is true that 
in most instances a general opinion of a teacher's 
efficiency is all that a school board will care to 
hear from the superintendent in determining 
their action as to his retention as a teacher and 
while it is also true that a too close analysis of a 
teacher's work is not wise, it will be found desir- 
able for the superintendent occasionally to make 
a careful estimate of each teacher's work in par- 
ticular lines. The following outline may suggest 
points of inquiry in observing a class recitation. 
Besides furnishing to the superintendent valuable 
data for reference the observations and conclu- 
sions will be a direct test and challenge of his 
professional ability. 

1. Name of teacher, grade and subject. Num- 
ber in class. Time given, etc. 

2. What is the general aim or purpose of the 
lesson ? (a) Instruction, (6) examination, (c) drill. 

3. Does the teacher seem to have clearly in 
mind a specific end ? If so what ? 

4. If [a) [see 2] is too much or too little pre- 
sented ? 

5. Is the arrangement of material good ? 

6. Is there a connection with previous lessons ? 
If so what ? 

7. Is there correlation with other subjects ? 
What and how ? 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 



159 



8. Are the questions such as to encourage orig- 
inahty and self activity ? 

9. Are the important points emphasized ? 

10. Is the recitation of pupils such as to en- 
courage comprehensiveness, conciseness, clear- 
ness, and correctness of expression ? 

11. Is the manner of the teacher animated 
and interested ? 

12. Are the pupils attentive and interested in 
the lesson ? 

For more frequent and general note-taking of 
results of observation some such blank as the 
following may be used, intended only for per- 
sonal use of the superintendent. The marks are 
made on a scale of five, 1 being " very poor" 
and 5 " excellent ". 



Names of 
teachers 


Indust?']/ 
of pupils 
in study 


Attention 

of pupils 

in class 


Method 

of dis- 

•: cipline 


Skill in 
teaching 


Manner 

of 
teacher 


Ge)ieral 
impres- 
sion 


Mary Brown.. 
Sarah White.. 
Emma Smith. 


4 
5 
2 


3 

1 






3 
4 
1 


4 
3 






2 
5 

2 








3 
4 
1 








4 
4 
2 








3 
5 

2 







General record 
for reference. 



In marking, the supervisor of course may use 
any symbols he desires — letters, figures, or ar- 
rangements of dots. There is an obvious ad- 
vantage in having a record whose key is known 
only to the maker of it. 

If the purpose of the record is to furnish data 
for the giving of individual advice to teachers, 
special notes of work observed will doubtless be 
better than either of the forms above noted. 
Such notes also may be more satisfactory for observed 
reference in case the supervisor's rating as pre- 
sented to the school board is challenged by ag- 



Special notes 
of work 



160 School Organization and Supervision 



Short oral or 
written exam- 
inations. 



grieved parties. The following form of rating 
teachers by supervisors has been suggested as 
reasonable, comprehensive, and simple. Features 
marked: (1) Personality, iDcluding character, 
appearance, manner, voice, etc. ; (2) instruction ; 
(3) discipline: each feature to be marked a, b, c, 
or d; a, meaning very good; b, good; c, fair; 
and d unsatisfactory. 

Examinations. — Although the superintendent's 
visits are primarily for the benefit of the teacher 
there are times when the direct work of the 
superintendent with the pupils will be most de- 
sirable. Sometimes the most effective way of 
suggesting to the teacher desirable work to be 
done or of ascertaining whether desirable work 
has been done is by way of short oral or written 
examinations given at the time of the regular 
visits 

Thus, for example, the superintendent may 
desire to impress upon the teacher the import- 
ance of giving to the pupils much oral practical 
work in arithmetic. He might advise or even 
direct this to be done, with little effect. But a 
brief examination will open the teacher's eyes 
to the importance of such work, especially if the 
results are poor, and the examinations along the 
same hue are repeated in succeeding visits. 
These examinations, if oral, may also illustrate 
to the teacher a method of questionmg by which 
the maximum of thought and clear expression 
on the part of pupils may be gained. 

Occasionally of course the questions will be 
quite impromptu, being suggested by what the 



note -book. 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 161 

teacher or pupils have done in recitation; but 
generally they should be carefully made out with 
direct reference to the possible use which the 
results will serve and they should always have a _ . 

. , * . T .... . , Designation of 

point. Aimless questioning is worse than none, questions in 

For convenience of noting and of reference, 
the groups of questions may be designated by 
letters of the alphabet. The following questions 
will suggest the form and kind of examinations 
which may be made in the various grades. The 
Eoman numerals in parenthesis indicate the 
grades of pupils for whom the examinations are 
intended. For example (III-V) means that the 
questions are intended for pupils of the third, 
fourth, and fifth grades or years in school. In 
ungraded schools the divisions may be indicated 
by the letters l, m and u, which stand for the 
lower, middle and upper divisions. 

Oral arithmetic A (III-V) 

1. Cost of half a dozen bananas at the rate of 
three for five cents ? 

2. Cost of thirty eggs at twenty cents a dozen ? 

3. How many times will a pail containing 1 
gal. 3 qt. of water fill a quart measure ? 

4. Cost of 2 gal, 1 pt. of milk at 8 cts. a quart.? 

5. If 4 lb. of cheese cost 50 cts., what must 
be paid for 20 lb.? 

Oral arithmetic B (VI-VIII) 

1. At the rate of 2 for 5 cts., how many 
oranges can I buy for |4 ? 

2. Cost of 1 gross of buttons at J cts. apiece ? 

3. Cost of 3 lb. 4 oz. of cheese at 12 cts. a 
pound ? 



Notes of results 
in note-book 



162 School Organization and Supervision 

4c. A man earns $i| a day. How much does 
he earn in a week ? 

5. At f of a dollar a peck, what must I pay 
for 2 bushels of apples ? 

Geography A (VII-VIII) 

1. Give reasons for extensive manufacturing 
in Great Britain. 

2. Compare the area of France and that of 
some parts of our country. 

3. Compare the degrees of rainfall in the 
countries of Spain and Holland and explain the 
cause of the difference. 

4. What are the industries of Norway ? 
Why do they not include other kinds ? 

Geography B (III-IV) 

1. Water from the eaves of our schoolhouse 
flows towards (name the brook or river). 

2. The slope (east, west north or south) 

of our schoohouse slopes to the (east, west, 

north or south). 

3. A divide crosses the road (east, west, 

north or south) of our schoolhouse. 

4. The right bank of (brook or river near- 
est to the schoolhouse) is the bank (next to, far- 
thest from) the schoolhouse. 

In taking notes of results of any of the above 
examinations, the superintendent may write in 
his notebook the school or class examined, the 
time of the examination, the set of questions 
given, and the per cent, of correct answers. For 
example: the note •' Miss Brown, V Oct. 2. Arith. 
A. 65 " means that the pupils of Miss Brown's 
fifth grade were examined on the second day of 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 163 

October in Arithmetic, using a set of questions 
marked A , and that there were 65 ^ of correct 
answers. For purposes of ready comparison the 
results of the examinations might be given in 
tabular form thus : 



School or 
teacher 


Time of 
examin- 
ation 


Class 
examined 


Subject 


Set of 
ques- 
tions 


Per cent 

of correct 

answers 


Remarks 


Mary Brown. 
Sarah White. 


Oct. 2 
Nov. 3 


V 

IV 


Arith. 
Geog. 


A 
B 


65 
70 


i Great ex- 
■< tremes-Sper- 
I feet papers. 



A convenient method of tabulating the results 
of a given examination is to write a set of ques- 
tioDS on a page of the superintendent's notebook 
and on the opposite page the name of the school 
or class, number examined, and number of cor- 
rect answers. Thus, opposite a page of three or 
five questions in geography the results might be 
given as follows: 



School 


Time of ex- 
amination 


Class 
examined 


Average 

per cent 

of correct 

answers 


Remarks 


Washington... 
Adams 


Nov. 9 
Nov. 10 


VI 

M 


55 
65 


Most failures in 
2d question. 

6 pupils. 





Much depends upon the way in which the 
examinations are given. Two points of prime 
importance should be kept in mind by the super- Conditions im- 
intendeat, or for that matter by any one who f^eriying tbe 
examines. The conditions, in the first place, 
should be such as will insure the greatest degree 
of freedom on the part of the pupils. The fear 
of failure should as far as possible be removed 



examinations. 



164 School Organization and Supervision 

from their minds. They should be encouraged 
to give all they know of a subject, and especially 
all that is the result of their own thinking. 

In the second place the examinations should 
be so conducted that the pupils will be entirely 
free from the temptation to receive any outside 
help. This should be done not merely because 
a true record of each pupil's attainments is de- 
sired, but chiefly because it gives no opportunity 
or temptation to deceive. By degrees the habit of 
honest speaking and writing will be so fixed that 
there will be no thought of deception when later 
there may be an opportunity to practise it. The 
absence of a spirit of honor in examinations so 
common in some schools is a sad commentary 
upon the neglected opportunities of moral train- 
ing. No amount of advice in respect to honor 
is at all comparable in effect to the daily and 
hourly guidance in the practice of it. 

As a rule ample time should be given the pu- 
Time allowed pils, both in writing and in speaking their an- 
for answers. swers. Sometimes, however, rapid responses may 
be called for, especially in those matters which 
should be quickly called to mind, as in some 
foundation facts of arithmetic. In some examina- 
tions the pupils may be given time to think their 
answer and be allowed but a brief time for writing 
it. Thus in a test of oral or mental arithmetic 
the pupils may be given a question at a time 
with a signal for writing it. 

The following orders will illustrate this point : 

(1) " Ready " — with pencil and paper (or slate) 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 165 

(2) ''Price of lOJ lb. of beef at 16 cts. a ^ ^ ^ ^ 
\ ,, A method of 

pound r examining 

(Pupils keep answer in the mind till next suggested. 
order is given) 

(3) ''Write answer" (pupils quickly write 
figures only of answer in the upper right-hand 
corner) 

(i) " Pencils down " 

(5) " Those who have 168 hold up the paper " 
(or slate). 

The answers may be quickly inspected and if 
needed note may be taken of the result. Quick- 
ness, accuracy, and freedom from collusion char- 
acterize such an exercise, serving the double pur- 
pose of ascertaining what the class has done and of 
indicating to the teacher work which either has 
been well" done or ought to be done more thor- 
oughly. 

Considerable space has been given here to the 
methods of brief occasional examinations in the 
hope of showing their superiority over the longer Formal written 
and more formal examinations sometimes given exammations 
by principals and superintendents. The latter tendent should 
kind of examinations may be occasionally given, be few. 
but if they are frequently given and especially if 
they are given as a full or partial test of the 
ability of the pupils to go into a higher class, 
they are open to grave objections. The inevit- 
able result of such examinations is to force the 
teacher into the employment of means and 
methods which are now deprecated by the best 
teachers. 

In the first place, while a general examination 



166 School Organization and Supervision 



Objections to 
examinations 
for promotion. 



furnishes a basis for comparison it is unjust in 
not being given with reference to the needs of 
any particular school or teacher. It may be 
needed in some schools while it is for other 
schools unnecessary and even harmful. 

But the greatest objection to the formal ex- 
amination for promotion given by a superin- 
tendent or principal lies in its cramping effect 
upon teachers and pupils. The questions so 
given are a test of information only and of such 
information as may be found in the text- book. 
Not many outside or general questions are in- 
cluded in the tests because it is seen to be mani- 
festly unfair to ask such questions with conse- 
quences so mometous as are involved in the pro- 
motion of pupils. Superintendents who would 
not scruple to blame teachers indirectly by 
giving questions whose answers cannot be found 
in the text-book would hesitate to punish the 
children in that way. The result is that in 
schools where the promotions depend in full or 
in part upon tests given by an outside examiner 
the work comes to be largely that of the verbal 
memory, a kind of loading-up-process of informa- 
tion in anticipation of the unloading process 
of an examination. 

It is this loading and unloading process which 
has prompted some one to define the examina- 
tion as a " permission to forget ", a definition 
which is recognized in the preparation for col- 
lege, where the requirements for admission de- 
mand an examination upon certain books. The 
limited capacity of the pupils in respect to the 



The Superintendent' as Supervisor 167 

information load is recognized by the college, 
and the difficulty is met by the ingenious plan 
of preliminaries in which the overburdened 
candidates are permitted to forget on the instal- 
meut plan. 

But these strictures upon examinations can in 
no way apply to examinations given by the 
teachers themselves, or to the examinations by some examina- 
superintendents or principals when the main t ions desirable, 
purpose is to test the power of the pupils and to 
give a hint to teachers of the kind of work 
which it is desirable to do. Good teachers 
everywhere recognize the helpfulness of such 
examinations and welcome them. 

Written examinations upon special lines of 
work may also be given to a certain school 
whenever it is found that wrong lines are fol- 
lowed or wrong subjects are emphasized. For 
example if the pupils of a sixth grade aire 
acquh'ing too few facts in history or are acquir- 
ing unimportant facts, a set of questions care- 
fully prepared by the superintendent should be 
given to the school, and the teacher be asked to 
mark the papers. If it seems desirable ques- 
tions may be given to the same grade of pupils in 
other schools for the purpose of a comparison of 
results. 

Teaching. — The superintendent, if sure of his 
ability as a teacher, might in addition to exam- 
ining pupils give model lessons in teaching. He '^^^ superin- 
ought at least to be ready to illustrate a point modeUessons 
of teaching or questioning which he may have 
made in the teachers' meeting or to teachers 



168 School Organization and Supervision 

Individ aally, by taking a class of pupils. He 
may not be able to teach all subjects as well as 
some of his teachers, but he should be able to 
illustrate by example any principle he has given. 
This may be done in response to a teacher's re- 
quest, or at his own instance. If for any reason 
however, he desires to conduct a recitation, it 
would be well to ask the permission of the teacher 
rather than assume it as a right and thus appear 
to the pupils to dictate. It is needless to say 
that all appearances of criticism of the teacher 
before his pupils should be avoided. 

The two classes of teachers who ought espec- 
ially to feel the influence of the superintendent 
are the poorest teachers and the best ones. The 
former are to be made better, if possible, by 
judicious assistance, and the latter are to be sup- 
support as ported by judicious praise. Those who stand be- 
weii as advice, tween these two classes will undoubtedly be 
greatly assisted by both kinds of influences 
named. It may not be the superintendent's busi- 
ness to fit untrained persons for the profession 
of teaching, but it is undoubtedly his duty to 
correct as far as possible the poor methods of 
teaching which he finds, while it is equally his 
duty to encourage in all possible ways the wise 
efforts of good teachers. 

The removal of iuefficieut teachers. — All this 
suggests a matter of great importance to the 
schools and of no little concern to the superin- 
tendent, viz., how to get rid of incompetent teach- 
ers. A teacher may fail from one of two causes, 
— either he is unable to improve on account of 



Teachers need 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 109 

existing conditions, or he is unable to improve 
under any conditions. In the former case, the 
conditions might be changed by transferring him 
to another school, or by giving him special assist- 
ance; in the latter case, the teacher should be 
dismissed, or be allowed to resign. In any case, 
it is assumed that the superintendent has pointed 
out to the teacher his faults, and has tried all 
the means in his power to correct them. 

To insure wise and firm action on the part of 
the board in respect to the transfer or removal ^^^^ ^^ ^^ 
of incompetent teachers, it is advisable for the with incompe- 
superintendent to explain to individual members tent teachers, 
what he has done, and perhaps to show them 
the difference between the work of poor teach- 
ers and that of good ones. By such means 
members of the board whose interests lie in the 
schools will not be influenced to retain incompe- 
tent teachers from personal, political, or senti- 
mental motives. As a matter of fact, however, 
there are likely to be some teachers retained in 
service who art; not approved by the superin- 
tendent. In such cases, the issue should be 
squarely made, wholly on the ground of the well- 
being of the schools. If there is no disposition on 
the part of the board to act in the interests of 
the schools, and there is a persistent effort to 
elect and retain teachers on other grounds than 
those of efficiency; and if, further, there is no 
•sign of a disapproval of such action on the part 
of the people, then the superintendent is justi- 
fied in moving to another field. 

There is one powerful agency in the retention 



170 School Organization and Supervision 



The influence 
of division 
committees 
pernicious. 



as well as in the election of poor teachers which 
may be spoken of here, although it has no direct 
relation to the duties of the superintendent — the 
agency of division committees of the school- 
board to whom is committed the duty of recom- 
mending the election or re-election of teachers. 
There could be no plan devised better calculated 
to encourage a spirit of log-rolling than this, for 
the recommendations of each committee are ex- 
pressly made with the understanding that its ac- 
tion will not be questioned. Each committee 
practically says that it will interfere with no other 
committee so long as it is not interfered with. 
If such committees exist, their powers ought to 
be limited by the rules of the board according to 
which their action must receive the sanction of 
the superintendent. 

Teachers' meetings. — One important if not es- 
sential means of raising the work of the teach- 
ers to greater efficiency is the teachers' meet- 
ing. There are several kinds of such meet- 
ings which may be held either directly or in- 
directly under the auspices of the superintendent^ 

viz. : — 

1. Meetings of local teachers'' associations^ in 

Local teachers' which papers are read and discussed. These 
meetings should be directly in charge of the 
teachers, with such assistance as the superinten- 
dent may be able to give. It may seem advisa- 
ble at these meetings to consider matters of 
general as well as professional interest, and to 
invite one or more specialists to present papers, 
for discussion. The following programmes sent 



associations. 



2 he Superintendent as Supervisor 171 

to members of a local association indicate the 
possible character of the meetings : 

1 Reading of records 

2 Special business: reports of committees, etc. 

3 Address by of 

Subject: — Practical ways of correlation 

Discussion opened by Miss A. and Mr. B. 



1 Opening exercises 

2 Miscellaneous business 

3 Educational progress of the nineteenth 
century. 



4 The art of study 

Sup't 

5 Discussion 

2. Meetinqs for reading and study, in which ^^ ^^ 

^ •^ ^ '^' Small meetings 

some particular topic or book is made the sub- for study, 
ject of discussion. The superintendent may or 
may not have the direction of these meetings, 
although his advice will be likely to be needed in 
making a choice of subjects. On some accounts 
it will be found best for the membership of these 
circles to be limited to a small number. 

If a book is made the subject of discussion 
the portion assigned for discussion should be 
read beforehand by every member of the circle. 
Definite questions may be assigned for members 
to consider, or the assignment may be made by 
pages. If a special topic is to be considered, sub- 
divisions of the topic may be assigned to differ- 
ent members to discuss. The announcement of 
the topic may include suggestions in the form 



programm 



172 School Organization and Supervision 

of questions. The following embodiment of 
this idea is copied from an actual programme:^ 
Subject for discussion: ^^ Motives and in- 
stincts as bases of discipline.^ ^ 

SUGGESTIONS 

study the article on this subject in the June 
(1901) number of " Educational Foundations ". 
The following questions are based on the arti- 
An actual q^^ named: 

What is meant by discipine ? 

What do you consider the chief motives which 
a teacher should use ? 

What value do you give to love of approbation 
and fear of censure as motives ? 

Should emulation be used as an incentive for 
the child's best work ? Give reasons. 

Discuss: 

(1) '' The value of rewards and punishments 
is in inverse ratio to their number " 

(2) " Kewards and punishments should be 
given not for the possession or absence of facul- 
ties but for their use and non-use " 

(3) " The justice of the awards must be un- 
questionable " 

What value has suspension as a form of pun- 
ishment and how should it be used ? 

How may the curiosity of children be made 
effective as a school incentive ? 



If the number of members is small and it is 

^Prepared by Superintendent Asher J. Jacoby, 
Milton, Mass. 



7 he Superintendent as Supervisor 173 

not desired to study or read in advance of the 
meeting, the reading may be consecutive, each 
topic being discussed after the reading. 

3. General teachers^ meetings, in v^hich mat- 
ters of common interest to all the teachers are 
piesented. These should be directly in charge Meetings for 
of the superintendent, and a large part of the ^^^ 
time should be occupied by him. The most im- 
portant and prominent subject for consideration 
at these meetings should be the suggestions of 
the superintendent, based upon his notes of in- 
spection . These notes should be carefully ar- 
ranged, with abundant illustrations. Following 
this in importance is the consideration of some 
vital subject connected with teachiug, in which 
there should be a free and full discussion by the 
teachers, preceded by a short address either by 
the superintendent or by some other person in- 
vited for the purpose. 

For the illustration of any principle or method 
of teaching, a class of pupils may be brought 
before the meeting taught either by the superin- 
teudent or by one of the teachers. In any case it 
should be regarded as a model lesson to illustrate 
a special point, and to furnish the subject for 
discussion in which all the teachers are expected 
to take part. 

^. Grade meetings, in which only topics of 
special interest are considered, such as the lim- 
itations respecting the work of a given grade, or ^^ ^^^^ ^°^^ 
the most important subject to be taken up. The 
superintendent, of course, will take a prominent 
part in the discussion of these subjects, and see 



174 School Organization and Supervision 

that each teacher clearly understands the con- 
clusions reached. 

Occasionally in grade meetings a model lesson 
may be given to illustrate some method of pre- 
senting a new subject or of reviewing a subject 
already studied, but care should be taken that 
the exercise has a point or points which will fur- 
nish the basis for suggestions by the superin- 
tendent or for a discussion by members of the 
section. 

With few exceptions, the attendance of teach- 
ers at teachers' meetings should be entirely vol- 
Attendance by ^^^i^^ry. Of course the aim should be to make 

teachers vol- *^ 

untaiy. ^he meetmgs so attractive and profitable that no 

teacher will wish to miss a single one^ but there 
need be few meetings which teachers should feel 
obliged to attend. If possible, the times of 
meetings should be so arranged that no one will 
feel overburdened if he attends them all. An 
average of one meeting a week should be the 
maximum. Two meetings a month will be 
likely to be as many as most teachers will be able 
to attend conveniently. Consideration especially 
should be had for those who are obliged to hire 
a carriage or to walk a long distance in order to be 
present. 

Training of teachers. — Superintendents may 
heartily agree with what has been said as to the 
needed qualifications of teachers and still be con- 
fronted by a condition of affairs which forces upon 
them an undesirable alternative : that is to say, 
instead of electing only well qualified persons to 
positions as teacher^ the school board may persist 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 175 

in employing untrained and inexperienced teach- ghaii local 
ers. When such teachers are employed the training 
question persistently presses itself upon the ^^^^,^/.^,^^.^ 
superintendent whether he will make the best 
of the situation by training as best he may the 
teachers in service or whether failing to induce 
the school board to elect teachers having the de- 
sired qualifications, he will endeavor to establish 
a training school in which local high school 
graduates may receive some preparation for 
teaching. 

There can be no question as to the inferiority 
of an ordinary city training school to n good 
state normal school as a means of preparing 
teachers for their work; neither can there be 
any doubt as to the inadequacy of the training 
which any local training school can give to young 
women just out of the high school. The altern- 
ative sometimes presented lies between such 
preparation as the local training school can give 
and no professional preparation whatever. 

It will not be necessary for the superintendent 
to plead urgently for the establishment of a 
training school. The scheme will appeal at once 
to those members of the school board and com- ^ot difficult to 
munity who see in it an easy means of securing establish a 
without great expense places for their own towns- training school, 
people. Besides it can be easily made to appear 
that the carrying on of a training school will be 
attended by an actual saving of expense. But 
before recommending such a course, the superin- 
tendent should exhaust every argument for the 
adoption of a standard of qualifications for 



176 School Organization and Supervision 

teachers distinctly higher than that which is at- 
^.?^^. ?^ ^ tained in a local traininsr school as ordinarily 

small training ^ •^ 

school. conducted. If however it seems advisahle to 

establish a training school nothing short of a 
good two years course with competent instruc- 
tors should be considered. The following plan is 
suggested as effective and feasible for a small 
city. 

Plant : A building or buildings having ten 
or more school rooms with recitation room 
facilities. 

Teaching force : Five or six excellent super- 
vising or Clitic teachers whose function it is to 
teach in the grades and to supervise the teaching 
of the pupil teachers, a special teacher of draw- 
ing and of industrial training, and one or two 
teachers of the history, theory and practice of 
education. 

Course : Two years- — First year — Study of the 
history and principles of education; obser- 
vation and practice of teaching under super- 
vision. 

Second year — Study of theory continued, with 
Purpose of increased amount of practice with and without 
training school direct Supervision. 

course. rpj^^ course of study as above outlined aims (1) 

to inculcate by lectures and study of hooks the 
most important theories and principles of educa- 
tion ; (2) to test those theories and principles by 
means of observation and practice; and (3) to 
familiarize the students by responsible practice 
with the art of teaching and management. Thus 
' the laboratory and apprentice ideas of training 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 177 

will be as fully developed as circumstances will 
permit. 

A training school of a higher order — one ^^^.^j^jj^ 
which presupposes superior scholarship and pro- school for grad- 
fessional ability on the part of the students may uates of norma 
be established after the following plan : '^^,^^^' ^^^ 

^ ^ colleges. 

Plant : School-rooms sufficient in number for 

each pupil teacher to have a room. 

Membership and duties : Only graduates of a 
normal school or college to be admitted, each 
member being expected to teach most of the 
time, with and without supervision. 

Teaching force : A principal and one critic or 
supervising teacher for every four pupil teach- 
ers, the principal and supervising teacfciers to 
give instruction one hour a day in each class in 
the principles of teaching and to inspect and over- 
see the work of the pupil teachers. A com- 
paratively small salary should be offered the 
pupil teachers for services rendered in teaching. 

The siiperiuteiuleut's report. — Reference has 
been made to the desirability of the superintend- 
ent's making to the board a monthly statement 
of the condition of the schools and such recom- ^ ^ s^ipeim- 

tendent s 

mendations as need to be made. This report monthly report 
should be carefully and judiciously made. It to the school 
should contain such facts as members of the ^°^^'^- 
board need to have for an intelligent appreciation 
of what is being done in the schools and what 
ought to be done by the board. Minute details 
of administration or a long array of statistics 
will not be needed, neither will it be advisable 
to present many theories of administration or 



178 School Organization and Supervision 



The superin- 
tendent's an- 
nual report. 



teaching in the monthly report. The confidence 
of the school board will be won more by a state- 
ment of what is actually done than by a repeti- 
tion of fine-spun theories. The following items 
are suggested as worthy of attention in the 
monthly report: 

(1) Facts in relation to school buildings which 
are needed to carry out the superintendent's 
recommendations for permanent repairs or new 
buildings 

(2) facts of school attendance, especially facts 
of such increase of numbers as will make neces- 
sary increased accommodations 

(3) report upon the business committed to him 
by the board 

(4) resignations of teachers and recommend- 
ations for supply of vacancies 

(5) other recommendations for board's action 

(6) plans of work in progress and in contem- 
plation. 

If the superintendent has the business affairs 
of the board to look after, it will be necessary 
to include in the report such items as approved 
bills and unexpended balances for the various 
departments. 

Scarcely less important than the regular month- 
ly report is the annual report, which, with the 
report of the school board, should be bound in 
pamphlet form and distributed to the citizens. 
This report although it is addressed directly to 
the school board should be made with reference 
to the needs not only of the members of the 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 179 

board but also of every parent and taxpayer. 
What the people most need to know is the exact 
work that has been done in and for the schools. 
Statistics should be limited to the items called 
for by state and national boards, and may be 
placed apart from the rest of the report in the 
appendix. The body of the report may contain 
a more or less elaborate treatment of the follow- 
ing topics : 

(1) Comments upon the statistics contained in 
the tables, with such comparisons as may be 
needed to bring out clearly certain results or 
needs of the schools. For example if it is de- 
sired to call attention to the increased attendance 
in the higher grades, a comparison of present 
and past percentages of attendance in those 
grades might be made, together with a compari- 
son of such attendance with the attendance in 
other places. Or if more money is needed for 
the salaries of teachers it may be shown that 
not so much is done in the city or town for 
which the report is made as is done in other 
places similarily situated. 

(2) A record of school accommodations with 
reference to present and furture needs. That 
part of the record should be especially empha- 
sized which* relates to sanitation and health. If 
the lighting and ventilation of any of the school 
rooms are poor, the fact should be pointed out, 
with such evidence of the needed changes as can 
be offered. 

(3) Any new plans of administration which 
have been carried out ; as for example methods of 



180 School Organization and Supervision 

promotions, individual instruction, or stamp 
savings. 

(4) Account of plans referred to in previous 
reports. 

(5) Resignations and appointments during the 
year. 

(6) DiscussioD of general questions in which 
the parents are interested, e. g., home study, 
physical training. 

(7) Desirable changes; e. g., medical inspec- 
tion of the schools; establishment oi one or 
more schools for' backward children; introduc- 
tion of the kindergarten. 

(8) Educational agencies other than schools; 
e. g., the local educational association; the pub- 
lic library ; art collections. 

(9) Reports of special teachers: manual train- 
ing, drawing, etc. 

Occasionally there may be given in the report 
a detailed account of exactly what is done in the 
schools in special subjects as reading or arith- 
metic. Some superintendents take up in this 
way one subject each year and treat it exhaust- 
ively, making their report not only a matter of 
local interest but also a contribution to educa- 
tional theory and practice. • 

Amount of time for supervision.— The relative 

time which a superintendent should give 

to the duties of supervision will of course 

Relative depend upon circumstances. In a large sys- 

amount o ^^^^ ^^ scliools many of the duties outlined 

time for super- '^ 

vision. above may well be performed by principals. 



The Superintendent as Supervisor 181 

under the immediate direction of the superin- 
tendent. In small places where most of the 
teachers are untrained a large part of the super- 
intendent's time should be given to actual in- 
spection of the schools and to such direction of 
the work of teachers as will give to it the largest 
measure of efficiency. But as already indicated, 
the teacher's efficiency is determined more by the 
self-direction of his own intelligence than by any 
dictation from others however intelligent it may 
be. A wise direction of the work of teachers 
therefore does not mean arbitrary dictation or 
the imposition of methods upon teachers that 
can not be made their own but it means the 
adoption of such means as will increase their 
professional knowledge and help them to apply 
it in skilful ways. 



CHAPTER VIII 



Meeting of 
teachers and 
parents. 



Parents' meet- 
ing in connec- 
tion with visit- 
ing day. 



THE SUPERINTENDENT AND COMMUNITY INTERESTS 

The uniting of the home and school in bonds 
of mutual helpfulness and the extension of the 
school so as directly to benefit all ^members of 
the community are ends which alPagree to be 
most desirable. Among the ways of reaching 
these ends in which the superintendent may 
well take the initiative are using the school 
buildings for parents meetings and social gath- 
erings, and establishing evening and Saturday 
classes for those who cannot attend the regular 
day school. These means of culture have 
already been referred to in treating of educa- 
tional ^ntres and vacation schools.* 
^Parents^ meetings. — There are various ways of 
bringing the parents and school authorities to- 
gether for the purpose of talking over matters 
of mutual interest. One way, perhaps the sim- 
plest, is for the superintendent to invite the par- 
ents to a teachers' meeting in which subjects of 
general interest will be discussed, such as home 
study, school hygiene, or school discipline. After 
the superintendent has presented such points as 
he desires to make, opportunity should be 
given for a free interchange of opinions by per- 
sons present. 

Another good way of reaching the parents is 



*See pp. 140-143. 



(182) 



The Superintendent and Community Interests 183 

to call a meeting of parents in connection with 
the school visiting day. It is the custom of 
some schools to have it known in the community 
that there is a day or half day every month upon 
which parents and all others interested in the 
school will be especially welcome. For such 
occasions special invitations are sent to parents 
through the pupils, it being understood that with 
little variation the regular work of the school 
will be seen. After the afternoon session of 
these days while the work of the school is fresh 
in mind, many of the visitors will be glad to 
hear from the superintendent and teachers some 
explanation of the exercises given and a state- 
ment of plans and purposes of the work of the ^. 
school. Opportunity for questions should be plans and news 
given and for such comment as any of the visi- i^ ^'^^ local 
tors care to make. Some superintendents and ^^^^^p^p^^ 
teachers have found it pleasant for all concerned 
to spend a portion of the time afforded for these 
meetings socially, light refreshments being 
served. 

Educational associations, — One of the best 
means of securing the cooperation and support 
of citizens in the work of the schools has been 
found to be the local educational association. 
The membership of the association consists of 
parents and teachers and all others interested in 
the schools. The organization and work of the 
various associations differ quite materially on 
account of a difference of conditions, but in 
all of them there are sought the arousing of 
public interest in the schools through addresses, 



184 School Organization and Supervision 

discussions, and conferences, and the bringing to- 
gether of all the educational forces of the commu- 
nity. In some of the associations efficient com- 
mittee service has been rendered in accomplishing 
such purposes as the establishment of kindergar- 
tens, and the decoration of schoorooms. There 
is great opportunity in such associations to 
awaken a public sentiment in needed reforms 
such as better ventilation and lighting of school 
rooms, a greater degree of attention to physical 
training, the introduction of industrial training, 
home reading, conditions of health, home study 
recreation for children, etc. 

The local newspaper. — Among the agencies 
which may be employed in awakening an interest 
n the schools and in furthering progressive plans 
of administration is the local newspaper. Edi- 
tors are generally willing to open their columns 
to educational matters of public concern, and 
for the good of the schools such matters should 
not be confined to complaints. In many in- 
stances complaints of the schools by parents 
and citizens arise from a misunderstanding of 
actual conditions or of what the purposes of 
Illustration of ^^^ ^^^^^^ authorities really are. Such com- 

the use ot a ^ 

newspaper in plaints would therefore be prevented by a 
the interests of regular and systematic presentation of 
t e sc 00 s. i^vhat is actually being done in and for the 
schools. 

It is evident that the information given should 
be under the direction of some one who has an 
interest in the schools, and who has a full knowl- 
edge of what they are doing. Naturally the 



The Superintendent and Community Interests 185 

superintendent is the person best fitted to do this 
work. As the executive of the school commit- 
tee he knows fully the plans of administration ; 
and as supervisor, he is familiar with what is 
going on in the schools. He is able, therefore, 
as no one else is, to give a true and judicious 
account of what is being done for the good of 
the schools. 

As an illustration of the possible usefulness 
of this service the following instance is given 
of what appeared in a newspaper which had a 
circulation in several county towns. The editor 
had assigned a column of each issue for the use 
of the schools, giving it the heading "School Local educa- 
Department ". It was in charge of the superin- ^]^^^^ associa- 
tendent of schools of a union district comprising 
towns in which there were many subscribers. 
In one issue the following items were given : 

(1) Plans of the superintendent for securing 
a regular attendance of pupils, and a statement 
as to which schools in the district had the best 
attendance during the month 

(2) an account of the Thanksgiving exercises 
in two of the schools 

(3) names of pupils in one town who were not 
absent during the term 

(4) notice of the discontinuance of the schools 
of one town for two weeks 

(5) details of plans concerning penny collec- 
tions for a yearly subscription to a paper which 
gives a weekly statement of current events 

(6) plans for collecting pictures for the schools. 
In another issue of the same paper there was 



186 



School Organization and Supervision 



Superintend- 
ent's letter to 
parents. 



printed a long letter from the superintendent to 
the teachers, a letter which was of special inter- 
est to parents. 

Superintendents are sometimes able to make 
an arrangement with the editor by which the best 
compositions of various grades of schools are 
printed. 

Such means of making known to the public 
what the schools are actually doing, and thereby 
helping to create a good public sentiment in 
their favor should be more widely adopted in 
the country towns and with some modification 
might be used with advantage in cities. 

Superintendents letter to parents. — One means 
of reaching parents other than those already 
mentioned is the circular letter sent by the super- 
intendent to the parents of every child attend- 
ing school. Such a letter will be more likely to 
be read by parents than the annual report and 
its statements and suggestions respecting mat- 
ters of mutual concern will have the force of a 
personal message. 

An example of this method of reaching par- 
ents comes to mind. It was a letter sent at the 
beginning of a school year in which four matters 
were treated viz., physical health, home study 
and recreation, punctuality and regularity of at- 
tendance, and attention and diligence in school. 
The character of the letter may be seen by the 
following detached sentences quoted at random. 

' ^ As the home holds the school responsible for 
what is done there, so the school must look to 
the home to do its part in keeping the children 



The Superintendent and Community Interests 187 

in such physical condition that they are able to 
put forth their best efforts." 

" All school childien even those in the high 
school, need plenty of sleep." 

" There is no hope of meeting the exacting 
requirements of the higher institutions on the 
part of youth who are permitted to attend par- 
ties and entertainments that involve late hours, 
neither can they be dismissed from school to 
attend places of amusement." 

" Whenever a pupil knows that the teacher is 
sustained by the confidence and cooperation of the 
parent, he is a better and more hopeful student. ' ' 

Such a message coming in this direct personal 
way must have great weight with parents, and 
must help to create that spirit of cooperation 
which is essential to the highest success.^ 

*For a superintendent's letter in full touching 
vital matters of interest to parents see Appen- 
dix F. 



CHAPTER IX 



Duties of 
organization 
and supervis- 
ion delegated 
to principals. 



Supervising 
principals 
should teach 



some. 



THE PRINCIPAL AS ORGANIZER AND SUPERVISOR 

Some of the duties already outlined as belong- 
ing to the superintendent of schools will, under 
some circumstances, naturally fall to the princi- 
pal. In large systems of schools the superin- 
tendent is likely to delegate to principals certain 
duties both of organization and of supervision 
which in smaller systems are performed by the 
superintendent alone. Thus the details of 
classification and promotion and of directing the 
work of teachers in some cities are likely to de- 
volve upon the principal who has to teach but 
a portion of the time. Such a principal may be 
called a supervising or superintending principal. 
Sometimes the supervising principal may have 
charge of the schools of a district ; in which case 
much of his time may have to be given to super- 
intendence and little to regular teaching. It is 
a question however whether even in the largest 
districts, the supervising principal should not 
have some regular work as a teacher to do. 
This statement may well apply to city high 
schools as well as to elementary schools. The 
principal of highest price and presumably of 
greatest power as a teacher ought not to spend 
all his time upon the petty details of organiza- 
tion which might well be delegated to subordi- 
nate teachers. 

(188) 



School Organization and Supervision 189 

In case the principal has direct charge of a 
room with no assistant, he will be expected to 
teach most of the time and have few supervisory 
duties beyond the government of all the pupils principals 
of a building at recesses and before and after with few 
school. Occasionally the duty is put upon supervisory 
such a principal of attending to cases of dis- 
cipline occurring in the various school rooms— 
a duty which should be assumed not because 
he has superor physical strength or better judg- 
ment than others in the management of refrac- 
tory pupils but because he has for the time being 
a position of greater authority than that of 
other teachers or because it is desirable to have 
some one near at hand to sustain the teacher in 
her decisions. But in any case the principal The principal 
should be more than a policeman or iudsfe. He ^^J.^ ^^^^^ ^ 

111- ^ 111^ i • 1' policeman. 

should inaugurate and help to sustain alJ agen- 
cies that will tend to encourage a high profes- 
sional spirit on the part of the teachers, a cordial 
cooperation of parents, and a fine sense of loy- 
alty and high ideals among the pupils. 

In directing the conduct of pupils outside of Principles of 
the school room, the principal should use the op- conduct. 
portunities presented for cultivating in the pu- 
pils a respect for one another's rights, for giving 
them free and healthful exercise, and for leading 
them into habits of self control. It is hoped 
therefore that many disiTurbing restrictions, 
and especially a spying by monitors, will not be 
found necessary. 

Suitable plays and games for all classes of 
children should be provided for, to be carried on 



Self control 



190 The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 

under the direction either of chosen leaders or of 
the teachers. In these exercises and in going in 
and out of school, every pupil should be made to 
feel that he is to control himself to the extent of 
living up to his ideas of what is right. If he 
the waui" knows that it is not right to cheat or to abuse 
word. another in a game or to play in the files, he ought 

not to feel that it is necessary for him to be 
watched or to be reminded of any remissness in 
these respects. If he does not know this or if he 
is found to need watching or reminding, he ought 
to be denied the privilege of having his recess with 
others or of filing with them. 

It is believed that if the exercises of the re- 
cess are properly provided for^ and if appeals of 
the right kind are made, there will be very few 
pupils who will care to take their recesses by 
themselves or under special oversight of a 
teacher. They will be made to feel a sense of 
pride in controlling themselves, and will have a 
feeling of pleasure in freely entering into the 
games with others. The principal's power for 
good will be greatly enhanced if he enters into 
the spirit of the games and has a personal inter- 
est in every pupil. He should, if possible, know 
each pupil by name and make them all feel that 
he is their friend, ready at all times with a kind 
word or look. All this he certainly can do if he 
has frequent opportunities of visiting the rooms 
in which the pupils are at work and especially if 
time and opportunity permit him to give instruc- 
tion or to examine classes in the various rooms. 

^ For list of games see Appendix F. 



School Organization and Supervision 191 

What has been said of the government of pu- 
pils on the play ground suggests a possible duty ^^^^ govern^ 

„ , 1 • • 1 i. • i. J • nient to be 

of the principal to inaugurate and encourage in encouraged 
all possible ways self government in the school 
room. Some principals have found it well in 
the middle and higher grades to establish a kind 
of pupil government in which the forms and 
practices of municipal governments are imitated. 
Others have interested the teachers in more di- 
rect and simple means of reaching the same end. 
In all plans of self government the principal, 
by showing a personal interest in the work and 
conduct of the pupils, may be of invaluable ser- 
vice to both teachers and pupils. His kind 
recognition of the ability or efforts of pupils to 
control themselves will be found a most effective 
aid to teachers. If, for example, a teacher has 
adopted the device of putting upon a '' roll of 
honor " all pupils who are never spoken to for 
disorder or carelessness, the principal by occa- 
sionally referring to the roll may be of great as- 
sistance. 

Arrangement of programmes. — In schools hav- 
ing special teachers of music, drawing, or man Programmes 
ual training or in schools having departmental ^^^' f<^^o<^^s 
work by the regular teachers, there is needed mental work 
some one to adjust the programme in such a way 
as to maintain a proper balance and to avoid con- 
flicts. This the principal is in better position to 
do than are the teachers collectively or even the 
superintendent. The time table will be deter- 
mined by circumstances, including the character 
of the subject and the convenience and prefer- 



192 School Organization and Supervision 



ences of the teachers. The maximum amount 
of study demanded may also have to be adjusted 
in the interests of all concerned. It frequently 
happens that pupils are overworked or that an 
undue amount of time is given to a subject of 
study by reasou of improper requirements. Some 
of the points of difficulty may be met by occa- 
sional conferences of teachers under the direction 
of the principal. By this means harmony of 
effort and purpose will be preserved and such a 
spirit of cooperation be maintained as is needed 
for the best interests of the pupils. In no bet- 
ter way can a proper correlation and balance of 
the various studies be effected. 

The testing of text books. — It is frequently 
found advisable for text-books to be tested by 
actual use in the school room. This the superin- 
tendent and principal may do by placing the 
books in the hands of the pupils and afterwards 
asking the opinion of teachers as to their practi- 
cal merits. The principal has the added advan- 
tage of seeing frequently the results of their use 
by various teachers and thus is able to give valu- 
able testimony as to their adaptability to exist- 
ing conditions. Many apparently excellent 
text-books would doubtless fall by the way if 
they were subjected to such a trial made under 
direction of a supervising principal. 

Co-operation of Parents. — Probably the most 
Waysby which unique and most powerful influence of the principal 
the co-opera- upon his schools lies in his ability to secure the 
tion of parents ^^^^j.^^^ and CO- Operation of the parents. This 
is accomplished (1) by interviews with parents in 



Text-books to 
be tested by 
actual use. 



is secured. 



The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 193 

the homes and in the school, (2) by visiting days for 
which parents are especially invited, (3) by special 
exhibitions of the pupils' vrork in each grade, 
(4) by parents' meetings at which the principal has 
an opportunity to explain what the teachers are 
attempting to do and to suggest ways by which 
parents may give needed aid, and (5) by local edu- 
cational associations in which a healthy interest 
in the schools may be awakened through the 
frequent discussions of educational questions by 
teachers and citizens. 

School Extension. — One effective means of 
awakening the people's interest in education is 
through direct instruction. Upon evenings and Evening 
Saturdays for at least a portion of the year the f^^^^^^ ^^^ 

lectures 

school rooms and halls should be opened to all 
beyond school age for practical lessons and lec- 
tures of various kinds. Naturally the instruc- 
tion desirable for persons in active life will be 
somewhat different from that which is given to 
children This difference lies mainly in the 
kind of work attempted. Thus in some com- 
munities there will be classes in dress-making, 
cooking, carpentry, mechanical drawing, stenog- 
raphy, type- writing, etc., all with special refer- 
ence to immediate needs. Popular lectures, with 
and without the stereopticon may also be given 
in this school extension course. Experience 
has shown that both class instruction and lec- 
tures will be fully attended if they are of the 
right kind. * 

* See appendix E for examples of active work 
in educational centres. 



194 School Organization and Supervision 

School Savings Bank. — Among the educational 
interests not directly connected with the pur- 
poses of the school which the principal may 
A simple plan have occasion to look after is the School Savings 
of school Bank. In one form or another this obiect- 

savings. "^ 

lesson and encouragement of thrift has been 
given in a large number of places both here and 
abroad. The plan of operation should be such 
as will require from teachers the least possible 
care and time. If there is a local bank an ar- 
rangement might be effected by which small 
deposits could be made for safe keeping through 
the teacher and principal. An account might 
be taken by teachers of all deposits until the 
amount for each pupil is sufficient for a bank 
book entry. Probably the simplest and most 
effective plan is that of the Stamp Savings. By 
this plan cards are provided upon which stamps 
are placed corresponding to the amount deposit- 
ed.^ 

Child Study. The principal of a building or 
district is in a peculiarly favorable position to 
make a study of and provision for defective, 
backward, and refractory pupils, t He may 

* This plan has been adopted in most of the 
large cities of the country, from which informa- 
tion as to how it is carried on may be obtained. 
Information and material may also be ob- 
tained from J. H. Thiry, Long Island City, N. Y., 
who introduced the system into this country. 

t See what was said upon Special School and 
Classes and Schools for Backward Children pp. 
138-140. Also Chapter XI, and Appendix E. 



The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 195 

also do much to encourage and carry out on 
good lines profitable child study, in which a 
comparison of certain features of the pupils' per- 
sonality and work is made and recorded. The 
purpose of these observations and records is 
two-fold, first in leading teachers to discover 

• -. . ■ J ji • -1 1 • 1 XI Profitable child 

facts m relation to their pupils which they ^^^^^ 
should know ; and secondly in providing useful 
information for subsequent teachers. The rec- 
ords should be kept in permanent form, either 
in books provided for the purpose or in card 
catalogues. The facts sought and noted may 
be such as relate to the health, efforts and at- 
tainments of pupils at intervals of six months 
or a year. The outlines which follow will sug- 
gest both the kind and the form of records to be 
kept. Most of the items of the first outline may 
be supplied by the teachers, but in the interests 
of accuracy the principal may be called upon 
to assist in some of the measurements. * 

The following blank is intended for a card cat- 
alogue, each card being 5 in by 3 in. The 
marks may be indicated by letters or figures, 
their interpretation being placed on the back of 
the card. 

* Other Outlines for Observation Eecords are 
given in Chapter XII and Appendix F. 



196 School Organization and Supervision 



Outline of 
observations 
for card cata- 
logue. 



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The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 197 

An illustration of a kind of child study most 
profitable to all concerned and quite easy to 
conduct is shown in the following plan 
devised and carried out in a large high school. * 

Memorandum of Principal of Grammar School 
from ivhich the pupil came. 

Name of pupil. School attendance. Gen- 
eral health. Temperament. Character. Gen- 
eral Scholarship. What Course ought to have 

chosen ? Ought to be allowed to take up 

extra work first year ? Greatest strength ^ j^^^ ^^ ^j^.j^i 

and interest. Greatest weakness. Outside inter- study in which 
ests. (What steady hkes are shown?) Home con- ^^^ co-opera- 
ditions. (Outside influence in general). In '^^^^^^X 
case of difiiculty in learning or fault in behavior secured, 
what method of instruction or discipline have you 
found most helpfuF? 

Memorandum of Parent. 

1. What has been general health during 

the past two years ? 

2. Does have any trouble with eye 

sight ? 

3. Does sleep well ? How many hours ? 

Does take time enough to eat a good break- 
fast before going to school ? 

4. Roughly, how much time does spend 

in recreation and exercise ? In what way? Do 
you think is out in the air enough ? 

5. Do you think we teachers require too much 

* This plan was arranged and carried out by 
Dr. Fred W. Atkinson when he was principal of 
the Springfield, Mass., High School. 



198 School Organization and Supervision 

of ? Do you think might do more 

studying just as well as not ? 

6. Roughly, how much time does spend 

at home studying ? Does need to be urged 

to study or not ? 

7. Does take books from the library for 

self ? Roughly, how much time does 

spend in reading books (not connected with 
school work) ? What is the character of this 
reading ? Does read magazines ? News- 
papers ? 

8. What steady likes and dislikes has in 

school and out ? What study, if any, does 

complain of as hardest ? 

9. State any other things (concerning temper- 
ament, character, etc.) which we ought to know 
to be of greatest help and encouragement to 

PupiVs Memorandum 

1. What books have you read since ? 

2. Which of these books do you especially like 
and why ? 

3. What character in these books do you 
especially like and why ? 

4. What kind of literature do you prefer, fie - 
tion, history, biography, books of travel, essays, 
poetry, etc. ? 

5. Who is your favorite author ? 

6. What newspaper (daily or weekly) do you 
habitually read ? 

7. What magazines do you read, and which 
do you like best ? 



The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 199 

8. Do you draw books from the City Library 
— if so, about how many each month ? 

High School Teacher^s Memorandum 

Name. Date of beginning of this study. 
Date and place of birth. Height. Weight. 
Sight. Hearing. Health. Temperament. 
Character. General Scholarship (chief mental 
characteristics. Character of this pupil's men- 
tal development). Greatest strength (interest). 
Greatest weakness (difficulty). Application 
(studious? Stimulus needed, etc.) Attention. 
Ability to express (a) orally (6) in writing. 
Ability to think (influence and reasoning). 
Ability to memorize. Imagination. Attend- 
ance (a) regularity {b) punctuality (c) dismissals. 
Interests (a) in school (b) out of school. Con- 
trolling motives (why does this public attend 
school, etc.) General deportment (most success- 
ful treatment, etc.) Additional data. 

Such records of the physical and mental char- 

1 • 1' r: -1 Ji -1-1 1 Investigations 

acteristics or pupils must be regarded as a valu- ^ . . . „ 

^ ^ ^ not injurious 

able aid to teachers of all grades of schools, to ciiiidren. 
They are moreover entirely within the power of 
teachers to make, with not the slightest danger 
of injuring the child, as some seem to fear. A 
simple observation and record of a child's inter- 
ests, inclinations and powers ought not to be 
attended by a harmful ' ' prying into his soul ' ' , 
any more than a recitation in geography or his- 
tory. Of more doubtful value and policy are 
the investigations of child study which seem to 
be made in the interests of science. If such in- 
vestigations are ever allowed, they should be 



200 School Organization and Supervision 

conducted only by trained psychologists and then 
only with the greatest care. 

Supervision by 

principals Supervision. — What has been said elsewhere 

closer than by respecting the duties of supervision by superin- 
tendents will apply equally to the supervisory 
duties of principals. The difference between 
supervision performed by a superintendent and 
supervision perforroed by a principal is more a 
difference of degree than of kind. The princi- 
pal is supposed to have a more intimate ac- 
quaintance with the pupils than the superinten- 
dent, and can more frequently visit the schools 
for all the purposes of supervision — viz. — inspec- 
tion, examination, and teaching. He may be 
able therefore to guide the work of teachers 
more closely than the superintendent can. 

Care should be taken however that there be 
not too much supervision. If the system of 
schools is not large and the superintendent is able 
to visit the schools frequently, there should be 
little supervision of any other kind. In any 
case the supervision should not be in kind or 
amount such as will be burdensome to conscien- 
tious teachers. For good teachers the super- 
vision will be largely in the nature of support ; 
for poor ones it will be suggestive and helpfully 
directive. If both supervisor and teacher have 
a true professional spirit, that is, if they are in 
the effort to reach the pupils in the best way and 
seek to be guided by true educational principles, 
there need be no friction between them. If 
added to the conditions just named there is in 
both the sympathy and open heartedness which 



The Principal as Organizer and Supervisor 201 

always exist among those who are working to- 
gether in a great cause, not only will there be 
no friction but there will oe a happy and en- 
thusiastic co-operation in all that is done. Direct service 

In this brief statement of the duties of organ- the watch- 
ization and supervision which properly fall to a ^^^^^• 
principal, no allusion is made to the means em- 
ployed for securing the right kind of order in 
the lines and at recesses, nor to his function as 
arbiter in severe cases of discipline for recalci- 
trant pupils. Nothing has been said either of the 
multitudinous clerical duties which frequentlyare 
put upon principals of grammar schools in large 
cities. In all these duties direct service should be 
the watchword. No rule should be made, no re- 
port or record called for, no statisticsrequired that 
have not a direct purpose of helping to educate 
the children. Measured by this standard rules of 
discipline and clerical work will be much more 
limited than they are in many city schools.* 

A principal must of course faithfully perform 
the clerical and other duties of administration 
that are required of him by the school board or 
superintendent ; but if such duties interfere with 
his highest efficiency as a principal it is his duty 
to protest against them in the hope that he may 
give his time only to such means of supervision 
and teaching as will most directly lead to the 
great ends for which the schools exist. 

* In the New York School Journal of Oct. 5, 
1901, there is given a list of 157 separate and 
distinct kinds of clerical work performed by 
principals of the city grammar schools. 



CHAPTER X 



Duties of 
■organizations 
devolving 
upon the 
teacher. 



Forms of or- 
ganization not 
to be imposed 
from without. 



THE TEACHER AS ORGANIZER 

While the organization of the schools and 
classes belongs mainly to the superintendent 
and principal, there are features of organization 
which must be left wholly or in part to the 
teacher, such as the making of the daily pro- 
gramme, the division of the class or classes into 
sections whenever such division seems desirable, 
the placing of pupils in classes, and the assign- 
ment of work in such a way as to protect the 
rights of all, the formation of plans of govern- 
ment by which the largest measure of self con- 
trol on the part of pupils is assured, and in 
general the adoption of means by which the 
purposes of the school may be most effectively 
reached. 

All these matters involve plans of organiza- 
tion which have an important bearing upon the 
welfare of the school. They are no less matters 
of organization on account of the fact that they 
are closely connected with the work of instruc- 
tion and training. Indeed they belong mainly to 
the teacher because they are so closely connected 
with instruction and training. Those schools in 
which the daily programme, the division of 
classes, the assignment of work, rules of gov- 
ernment and kindred matters of organization 
are imposed from without are likely to be 

(202) 



The Teacher as Organizer 203 

mechanical and superficial, devoid of that elas- 
ticity and originality which are marks of a good 
school. 

The daily programme. — In making the daily The daily pro- 
programme the teacher should take into account gramme to be 
the relative time needed for the various subjects ^^^P^^^ ^^ ^i^- 
as well as the special needs of classes and indi- 
viduals. In respect to time limits for the var- 
ious subjects reference must be had to the re- 
quirements of the course of study * , but the 
adaptation of the programme to actual condi- 
tions must be left largely to the teacher. There 
are classes of pupils also who for various reasons 
are deficient in a certain subject and need some- 
what more time given to it than would ordi-. 
narily be given. For these and other reasons the 
programme may have to be changed from time 
to time. A fixed programme for all the schools 
is therefore not to be expected or desired. 

Effort should be made to allow the pupils 
opportunity for one or two hours daily of in- 
dependent study. There are many schools at 
home and abroad whose programmes do not ^j-amme to 
permit the pupils to have more than three min- allow time for 
utes at a time of uninterrupted study. The ^dependent 
pupils are either spending their time in recita- ^ ^' 
tion or else they are constantly being inter- 
rupted in a so-called study hour by pupils asking 
questions from their seats about their lessons or 
by teachers making explanation of some diffi- 
cult point which all the pupils desire to hear. 

* For plans based upon certain theories of 
time limits see pp. 77-85. 



204 School Organization and Supervision 



Here perhaps is the weakest point of our graded 
school system — the failure to lead the pupils 
into habits of concentration in study or into 
habits of independent work. 

This is the danger of our graded system of 
Class to be schools, bufc happily it is a danger which can in 
divided in some a large degree be avoided. Two or three short 



subjects. 



Advantage of 
short intervals 
between class. 



periods of study may be allowed in the pro 
gramme for all the pupils to study and for in- 
dividual pupils to go to the teacher for assistance^ 
always in a way so as not to attract attention. 
In graded schools two or three study periods of 
twenty- five or thirty minutes each may be 
secured by dividing the class iato two sections^ 
one section reciting while the other is studying. 
In such studies as writing, drawing, language^ 
and elementary science all the pupils of a class 
may recite together, but in other subjects the 
division of a class may be made with advantage 
on account of more fully reaching the needs of 
individual pupils, besides affording greater 
opportunity for study. In the lower grades the 
school or class may be divided into three or 
four sections, the pupils at the seats being given 
written and other worJi of various kinds. 

In those graded schools whose plan of classifi- 
cation embodies the idea of short intervals be- 
tween classes and frequent promotions there will 
of course be no difficulty in giving pupils ample 
opportunity for study. ^ Two or more classes, 
in a room will be heard separately in all sequen- 
tial subjects such as arithmetic, grammar, and 



7f 



See pages 126-133. 



The Teacher as Organizer 205 

elementary reading, thus giving pupils at least a 
third of the school time to silent reading or study. 

In ungraded schools care should be taken lest 
the number of classes in the various subjects be ^^ .^ . 
too great, thus affording lesson periods of only -^ ungraded 
five or eight minutes each. In some subjects like schools. 
arithmetic and reading it will be advisable to 
have several grades, possibly four or five, but in 
other subjects like geography and language two 
or three grades of work are quite sufficient. If 
possible the number of recitations daily should 
be kept below twenty, and there should be no 
recitation period of less than ten minutes in du- 
ration, however few the pupils reciting may be. 

The following suggestions respecting the class- 
ification of ungraded schools made by the author 
several years ago may be found helpful. 

" The classification of ungraded schools will 
depend upon circumstances. If there are two 
teachers (as there should be in schools of more classification 
than twenty- five pupils) more minute classifica- ^^ ungraded 
tions may be made than if there is only one. In 
some ungraded schools the older pupils predomi- 
nate ; in others the younger. In some places the 
older pupils are taken from the ungraded district 
schools and placed in a central grammar or high 
school; in other places no higher school of any 
kind supplements the work of the ungraded 
school. No exact rule, therefore, for classifying 
ungraded schools can be laid down. 

^'But in general it may be said that no close Every pupil to 
classification should be attempted in ungraded ^^^^ ^^J^*^^^^, 

^ ^ for which he is 

schools, but that every pupil should recite in the best fitted. 



206 School Organization and Supervision 

class for which he is best fitted, whatever the 
subject may be. For instance, a pupil may be in 
the second class in arithmetic and in the first in 
reading or vice versa. 

" Again, there should be as few classes as possi- 
ble consistent with the good of all. The false 
pride of pupils and the ignorance of parents as 
to what is best for their children should not 
prevent the teacher from doing his duty in this 
regard. . Too often the pupil and parent alike 
measure progress in education by the number of 
pages of the book that are ^ gone over'. And 
too often, also, there is some disgrace attached 
to the pupil who is put into another class. 

"All these hindrances to good classification 

plan of da^ssifi- ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ Overcome in one way or another. 

cation. The* parents may be made to see that the older 

pupils should recite only two or three times a 
week in some studies and that there may be a 
less minute classification in some studies than in 
others. In geography, for example, they may 
see that a knowledge of one country does not de- 
pend upon a knowledge of another, and that drill 
in one part of the spelling book may be as useful 
as drill in another part. The following classifi- 
cation might be made in many ungraded schools, 
consisting of pupils from five to fifteen years of 
age : four classes in reading, including one class 
in the reading of history ; five classes in arithme- 
tic; two classes in geography, besides the class 
of younger pupils who are reciting orally lessons 
in home geography ; four classes in spelling, two 
of which may be heard at the same time ; one 



The Teacher as Organizer 207 

class in physiology, — the rest to be heard orally; 
one class in history ; one class in English gram- 
mar; and one in language. The singing, draw- 
ing and observation lessons may be taught as 
general exercises to all the pupils at once. 

' ' It may not be well for a new teacher to make 
such a classification at once, nor carry out all at 
once the plan of hearing the older pupils recite on 
alternate days. It might be better for him to 
adopt for a time the classification which he finds, 
in the hope that he may gradually change it for 
the better." ^ 

HoAv U) meet the needs of individual pupils. — ^^^^ ^f q^^. 
A common defect, perhaps to some extent in- present system 
evitable under our present system, is the failure ^^ graded 
of teachers to meet the individual needs of pu- 
pils. It is fouDd to be the common tendency of 
young and inexperienced teachers, and some- 
times the tendency of teachers not young or in- 
experienced, to mechanize the work of instruction 
and training,— to make all the pupils of a class 
do the same thing in the same way and fre- 
quently at the same time. This tendency is 
shown in the concert exercises, in the models for 
parsing and for arithmetical analysis or explana- 
tions, in uniform requirements for all, in exami- 
nation for promotion or rank and in the custom 
of requiring pupils to "makeup" their work 
after school or at recess, — unmindful of whether 
that work is important or not as a basis of sub- 
sequent study, and sometimes unmindful of the 

* Courses of Studies and Methods of Teaching 
pp 309-311 



208 School Organization and Supervision 



Purely individ- 
ual teaching. 



Number of 
pupils to a tea- 
cher should be 
small. 



health of the pupils. So common are these prac- 
tices that there may be a measure of truth in 
the charge so frequently made against the public 
schools, — that of turning out the pupils after 
the same model. 

One remedy proposed is to abolish the graded 
and class system and to follow the individual 
method exclusively, by which each pupil is to re- 
cite as much as he has learned while the others 
are studying. The encouragment of memoriter 
work which such a plan involves, the absence of 
that stimulation which is occasioned in class work 
by the friction of mind upon mind, and the loss 
of time involved in the necessary teaching of new 
and difficult topics, all condemn this means of 
effecting the desired reform. 

To retain all the benefits of the graded and 
class system, and at the same time to avoid the 
dangers which are incident to it, is a difficult if. 
not an impossible task ; and yet much may be 
done in several ways to meet the difficulty. The 
first way which suggests itself is the reduction 
of the number of pupils to a teacher to the point 
at which each pupil may receive such individual 
attention from the teacher as he needs. Twenty- 
five or at most thirty-five pupils ought to be 
the maximum number for each teacher to have, 
in a graded school, with the understanding that 
the school shall be divided into two or more sec- 
tions. In some subjects of the primary school 
as in reading and number there may be several 
divisions or groups of six to ten pupils each. 
Instruction in drawing, language, and nature 



The Teacher as Organizer 209 

study in all grades may be given to the school as 
a whole. 

The needs of individual pupils may be further ^^sis for indi- 
met by putting them in grades or classes where ^^^^^^^ 
they can work to the best advantage. Careful tions. 
attention should be given to both individual and 
class promotions, — the only consideration being 
the welfare of each pupil. On every day of 
school the teacher should be ready to answer the 
question whether every pupil is placed where he 
can do the most for himself. The health, future 
plans, habits, and home surroundings of the 
pupils, all may help to determine the classes in 
which they are to be placed and the subjects 
they are to take. So much at least of child study 
should be pursued by the teacher as to make him 
acquainted with the above named conditions of 
each pupil. 

Occasionally there may be a pupil who by a 
little extra work in one of the sequential studies 
like reading in the lower grades or arithmetic in 
the higher, may be transferred on trial to a 
higher grade with a view of doing full work 
later. 

The subject of class promotions has been dis- 
cussed in another place * and need not be con- 
sidered here further than to say that the standard 
of judgment above stated as requisite for individ- 
ual promotions should be established for class 
promotions. 

The adaptation of work to individual pupils Optional and 
may be still further made by indicating in the ^^^^^ studies. 

* See pp. 124-126. " 



210 School Organization and Supervision 

course of studies the essential or important 
matter which all the pupils shall acquire, and 
the non-essential parts of the course which may- 
be learned with greater or less thoroughness, de- 
pending upon the ability of the pupils. The 
matter of optional studies also has an important 
bearing upon this subject. It may be found 
advisable to bring down to the upper grades of 
the grammar school, in a limited way, the 
elective system which has been adopted gener- 
ally in our best high schools. When a number 
of pupils are clearly benefited by the pursuit of 
any subject of study it is only fair that they 
shall have the privilege of taking it. It should 
be possible also to permit a pupil to drop one 
or more studies, when it is clearly seen by the 
superintendent and teacher that such omission 
of studies will be for his best interests. 

r, . .. Eeference has been made thus far to those 

Care in the as- 
signment of means of adaptation which are chiefly adminis- 

tasks trative in character and which are used jointly 

by the superintendent and teacher. There re- 
mains to be mentioned a way of meeting the 
needs of individual pupils which belongs to the 
teacher alone ; and that is, a plan of tasks and 
recitations by which all pupils shall be permitted 
to do the most that they are capable of doing. 
Instead of giving uniform tasks, as is generally 
the case, in which the pupils are expected to do 
'the same work or acquire the same amount, 
the teacher should adapt the tasks to the 
varied capacities and powers of the pupils, 
the essential or important parts of a given sub- 



The Teacher as Organizer 211 

ject or topic to be learned by all, and other parts 
to be studied by such pupils only as have the 
necessary time and power to learn them. Some 
subjects, like history, geography, and language, 
lend themselves readily to such treatment ; while 
others, like mathematics and science, may re- 
quire care and skill to accomplish the desired end 
of providing work of such kind and amount as 
will stimulate every pupil to do his best. 'E.xtra work m 

connection 

The recitation also should be conducted with with regular 
the same end in view. Of course, under the best lessons 
circumstances and with the utmost skill on the 
part of the teacher, there will be some waiting 
by the best and brightest pupils for those who 
are slower; and yet, with care, the recitation 
may be conducted in such a manner as to make 
it profitable for all to attend and take active part. 

For example, in all information studies in 
which lessons are assigned and recited by topics, 
all the pupils may be held responsible for what 
is in the regular text-book, while a few will 
be expected to consult reference books or other 
text-books found in the school or public library. • 
The fact that this extra work is entirely optional 
will be found to be no bar to effort on the part 
of the brighter pupils, who will be glad of the 
opportunity to get and to give this supplemen- 
tary information. 

In connection with the reading and literature 
work there will be abundant opportunities for 
the encouragement of extra reading by recom- 
mending books to be taken from the public 
library, or by lending books from the school li- 



212 School Organization and Supervision 



Special topics 
for extra 
work. 



An assistant 
for aiding indi- 
vidual pupils. 



brary. In these days of the publication of the 
best books in cheap form there is Httle excuse 
for the absence from the school library of an 
abundance of good literature. In mathematics 
and science the simpler application of principles 
should be given to all, and the more difficult ones 
to those only who are able to take the advanced 
work. 

In addition to the daily supplementary work in 
the various studies for the brighter and quicker 
pupils, there may be given them occasionally 
special subjects to report upon, either orally or 
in written form. This is done with success in 
the college, and there is no good reason why it 
may not be profitably done in high and gram- 
mar schools. In history, geography, science, and 
literature subjects are constantly arising upon 
which much of an interesting nature may be 
obtained and given in addition to what is found 
in the regular text-book. In addition to an 
awakened interest on the part of all, there will be 
gained in the giving of special topics much good 
practice in language and in the use of reference 
books. 

In some schools an assistant teacher is em- 
ployed whose only duty is to go about the class 
or school assisting pupils who need assistance. 
This is an expensive plan and unless the teacher 
is especially judicious in her treatment of pupils 
who seek assistance it is likely to discourage 
proper independence on the part of some pupils. 
A better plan is for one teacher to have a small 
number of pupils and to provide times in the 



The Teacher as Organizer 213 

daily programme in which needed assistance can 
be given for a few minutes at a time. Better 
than having an assistant in a room would be an 
assistant in a building to whom backward pupils 
or pupils who are trying to work into a higher 
class might be sent for assistance in certain sub- 
jects. * 

The feasibility and use of plans for meeting 
the needs of individual pupils are not confined to Flexibility of 
the graded schools. In rural or so-called un- classification in 
graded schools the opportunity to carry out such ^'^^^^ schools. 
plans is even greater, provided the folly is not 
committed of forcing the graded system of class- 
ification upon them; and provided also the 
schools consist, as they should, of a small num- 
ber of pupils, — never over twenty-five to a 
teacher. Here pupils should be assigned in any 
subject to the class in which they can do the 
most for themselves, — to the third class in read- 
ing it may be, and the first class in arithmetic, 
or, if necessary or best, to two classes in reading 
and to no class in geography. The chief value 
of the rural or mixed school lies in its elasticity 
of organization, and this should be preserved in 
the interests of individual pupils. What was 
said above of the assignment and recitation of 
lessons and of the giving of special topics in 
graded schools will apply equally to the un- 
graded schools; with the added argument that 
in the latter schools there is, as a rule, more time 
for independent study than in the former. 

* For plans of special classes see p. 139 and Ap- 
pendix E. 



214 School Organization and Supervision 



Self control 
the chief end. 



The"scliool 
city" plan of 
government. 



School government. — In a work of this kind 
obviously only such parts of the subject of school 
government should be treated as relate to orga- 
nization. Is there any organized plan of pro- 
ceeding which will aid teachers to secure the 
chief end of school government, viz. — self 
control ? Much has been said of the possibilities 
for good, especially in the direction of self 
government, in the adoption of some 
plan by which the pupils themselves will 
have a large share in respect to both 
making the rules of conduct and carrying them 
out. 

The form of self-government about which most 
is reported is that which is secured in imitation 
of existing forms of civil government. Perhaps 
the so-called ''school city" is the most ex- 
tensively used means of pupil government. 
In this plan the school is regarded as a separate 
municipality having most of the officers usually 
serving in cities, including mayor, city clerk, 
city treasurer, city attorney, a board of aldermen, 
judges, policemen, etc. The officers are nomi- 
nated and elected in much the same way as 
is customary in cities and the method of admin- 
istrating justice to offenders is in the main simi- 
lar to the method employed in real life. The ad- 
vantages claimed by many who have tried this 
plan are (1) the awakening of a strong civic sense 
through a clear knowledge of municipal govern- 
ment and actual practice in it; (2) the mainten- 
ance of order, which enables the pupils to per- 
form their work well ; (3) the '' training in cooper- 



The Teacher as Organizer 215 

ation and kindness and emulation to serve the 
general good." 

Another and less tried plan is the " Citizen and ^^^^ "citizen 
Tribune " plan by which the pupils elect officers and tribune" 
from their number whose duty is to look after plan. 
the conduct of all the pupils. The claim is 
made that the teacher is relieved of much dis- 
agreeable "disciplining" of unruly pupils and 
that the pupils develop a power of self-control. * 

A full account of the ' ' School City ' ' plan to- 
gether with opinions of those who have tried 
it, may be found in ' ' The Gill System of Moral 
and Civic Training ' ' issued by the Patriotic 
League, New Paltz, N. Y. For objection to it by 
Dr. Wm. T. Harris, Commissioner of Education, 
see The School Bulletin, March, 1906. 

Still another and simpler plan of self-govern- 
ment is that plan by which pupils sign an agree- 
ment to obey certain well defined rules of con- 
duct, made by the pupils themselves. The plan 
includes the election of a committee who have 
supervision of the order everywhere except 
when the teacher has charge of a room. The 
results claimed are (1) a happy spirit among the 
pupils, and a cordially pleasant relation between The co-opera- 
teachers and pupils; (2) excellent order; (3) a ^^^^^^• 
good moral tone; (4) relief of care to the teacher. 

There is no doubt that that order in school is 
best which is secured with few rules and with 
little dependence upon an exercise of external 

* The plan is fully outlined in a booklet writ- 
ten by John T. Ray, Principal of the John Crerar 
School, Chicago. 



216 School Organization and Supervision 



Little organ- 
ized effort 
needed to se- 
cure the best 
order. 



Separation of 
pupils on lines 
of honor and 
self cont;rol. 



"Roll of 
honor." 



The probation 
list. 



authority, and that that school is accomplishing 
much in character building whose pupils habit- 
ually recognize their obligation to respect the 
rights and feelings of others and to live to the 
truth as they see it. It is a question how much 
of organized effort is needed on the part of 
teachers to bring up a school to this condition. 
Doubtless it is accomplished by many teachers 
with no conscious effort, or if there is effort it is 
exerted without much machinery of rules, re- 
wards and punishments. With others some 
devices may be found useful as an encourage- 
ment to all concerned. 

One such device which has been used effect- 
ively in some schools is that of the teacher sep- 
arating his pupils into grades or lists on the basis 
of self-control. First is the ''roll of honor ", 
consisting of all whose ideas of justice and honor 
are high and who are willing and able to live up 
to their ideas of what is right. The members of 
this list may be given special privileges, such for 
example, as being allowed full fredom to leave 
the seat or room at afly time. No charge 
of unfairness or partiality could be made 
for the bestowal of such priviliges by pupils not 
upon the roll of honor; for the priviliges are 
clearly seen to be a natural result and not an ar- 
bitrary mark of favor — and they are freely 
offered to all who deserve them. 

The list below that of the " roll of honor " 
consists of those whose ideas of right are 
fairly good and clear but whose powers of self- 
direction and control are limited. They are 



The Teacher as Organizer 217 

among that large class of children who have been 
so long uader a faulty method of oversight and 
direction, ^that self-dependence in matters of con- 
duct is well nigh unknown to them. A major- 
ity of children seem to be victims either of a con- 
dition in which there has been no curb to their 
impulses and wishes, or of a method of constant 
reminders and checks by which an exercise of 
independence has been denied them. All that 
these children need is practice, first in choosing 
for themselves the better of two courses of ac- 
tion, and secondly in living up to their choice. 
All that is required of the pupils of the second 
list is a willingness to try to take care of them- 
selves. 

It is essentially a proving period for the pupils 
— a time of attempting to prove their strength, 
and therefore the pupils of this list may properly 
be called Probationers or members of the Proba- 
tion list. If properly approached most of the pu- 
pils of any school are ready to be placed in one or 
the other of the lists named. The probationer will 
necessarily be treated somewhat differently from 
the honor pupil, — but both will receive the confi- 
dence and assistance of the teacher. There may 
be occasional slips with members of both lists, 
but the only question is in the one case complete 
ability, and in the other effort and sincerity of 
purpose. 

But there may be a small number of pupils, '^^^ "over- 
probably never more than five per cent of the ^^^ ^ ^^ ' 
whole number, who are not willing even to try 
to take care of themselves. These pupils delib- 



218 School Organization and Supervision 

erately make a bid for the kind of control which 
some teachers seem to be only too willing to 
accord to the whole — the spying out of disorderly 
acts and the correcting of them. Of course 
these pupils cannot be treated as the pupils of 
either of the other two classes are treated. The 
attitude that the members of this third list as- 
sume demands that there be over them a con- 
stant watching — lest some rule of order be 
violated. For the other pupils there are no 
rules but one and there is no special oversight. 
But for these pupils there are as many rules as 
they demand and there is no time during which 
they are out of sight of a teacher. There may 
be some difficulty in naming this list of pupils. 
The term Oversight list has the advantage of 
being a reminder of one of the chief charac- 
teristics of it. 

In extreme cases the pupils of the third list 
may be subjected to the penalty of being separ- 
ated from their fellows and of having all social 
privileges taken from them. They may be obliged 
to have their recesses alone and be forbidden to 
speak to their mates at any time. But 
even for this class of pupils there should be 
opportunity and encouragement offered for 
improvement. As soon as they signify their 
willingness to try to govern themselves 
and show by their actions ability in this 
direction, they should be placed in the Pro- 
bation list and be given a fair trial. 

The success of this plan as that of any plan 
will depend largely upon the way in which it is 



The Teacher as Organizer 219 

carried out. The full value of self direction and Success of any 

self control in conduct will be understood by the plan dependant 

pupils as they see the earnest and persistent and patience 

emphasis which the teacher makes upon it day of the teacher. 
by day, and as they realize the feeling of satis- 
faction experienced in successful achievement. 
Great tact and patience will be needed on the 

part of the teacher to maintain the continued 
interest of the pupils. The result need not be 
feared so long as the teacher thoroughly believes 
both in the principle aud in the children. * 

* See the author's Courses and Methods, pp. 
328-344. 



CHAPTER XI 



Education for 
the sake of so- 
ciety and the 
state. 



The duty of 
the state to- 
ward defect- 
ives and delin- 
quents. 



SCHOOLS FOR DEFECTIVES AND DELINQUENTS 

Public school education is maintained for the 
sake of society and Education for the sake of 
society and the state, as well as of the in- 
dividual. It is at once constructive and pre- 
ventive — constructive in helping to create high 
ideals and intelligence, and preventive in help-' 
ing to hinder pauperism and crime. For the 
normal bodied and minded child the work of 
education is mainly constructive, and for this 
reason the duty of the state to foster education 
for that class^ and even to make it obligatory up 
to a certain point, becomes evident to all. We 
see that it is a wise provision of statute law for 
the upbuilding of society and for the happiness 
and usefulness of individuals that every normal 
child shall be assured of a common school 
education.. 

But if we keep in mind the need of the state 
to protect itself and the dangers to individuals 
of physical and mental degeneracy, we may see 
that the duty of the state toward abnormal or 
defective children is even more imperative than 
it is toward the normal or sound ones. It is 
incumbent, therefore, upon the state to provide 
means of education for all classes of children 
who are capable of education, and to provide 
care for all who are not. With the law upon 

(220) 



^ 



Schools for Defectives and Delinquents 221 

the statute book "J^'making^ such education and 
care mandatory, it becomes necessary to define 
the means of carrying the law into effect. 

It is said by good authority that from one-fifth special treat- 
to eight per cent of the children are what may be ment needed 
called abnormal children, i. e., children who are f^r abnormal 

' children. 

defective either in body or mind so as to need 
special care or treatment, — the smaller per cent 
indicating the proportion of children who are 
feeble minded, and the larger per cent includ- 
ing the children who are abnormally dull as well 
as those who are physically defective. At present 
a good proportion of these children are either in 
the regular schools blocking the progress of 
others, or else they are outside the pale of the 
schools waiting to commit some crime before 
they can be brought to the notice and protection 
of the state. * 

In general, there may be said to be two 

* Dr. Edward M. Hartwell, of Boston, in a 
computation recently made for the writer, re- 
ports as follows: "1,384, or 0.324 per cent of 
the population of school age (5 to 15 years) in 
Massachusetts in 1895, were non-educable in the 
public schools; 384, or 0.09 per cent, were men- 
tally defective, i .e., iusane or idiotic." Dr. 
Walter E. Fernald, Superintendent of the 
Massachusetts School for Feeble-Minded, said in 
an address before the Boston Homeopathic 
Medical Society Feb. 6, 1902, " I am confident 
that if every case was included there would be 
at least two [feeble minded persons] to every 
thousand of the population of the states. " 



222 School Organization and Supervision 

Two classes of classes of defectives: (1) those that need scien- 
defectives. tific or institutional treatment, such as the 
feeble-minded, the blind, and the deaf-mute; 
and (2) those whose education may, with some 
modifications, be conducted on lines similar to 
those of normal children, such as the dull or 
backward children, and those whose sight or 
hearing is but partially impaired. 

Upon the assumption that the state must as- 
sume the education of the first class of children 
named, there will be needed three classes of insti- 
institutions tutions located at convenient places in the state — 
those for the blind, the deaf-mutes, and the 
feeble-minded. All of these institutions, with 
^ the exception of the non-educable portion of the 

latter class, should be conducted with the view 
of making their pupils self-supporting. Indus- 
trial or technical training of various kinds will 
therefore be a prominent feature of the educa- 
tion carried on in these institutions. As they 
are supported by the state, they will be free to 
all its citizens, and will afford accommodation 
and facilities for all who can profitably take the 
training offered. 

Attendance upon these institutions will be 
compulsory; that is, the state will assume the 
same authority over its weak subjects which it 
assumes over its sound ones, by obliging all de- 
fective children of a certain age who are not 
otherwise cared for to take the training it offers 
in one or another of its institutions. This should 
be done on the principle that it is the duty of 
the state to protect the child from the neglect of 



Schools for Defectives and Delinquents 223 

the parent or guardian. This principle of pro- Education^of 
tection from neglect is to be applied to all classes defectives 
of children. But in the case of mentally or ^ igatory. 
physically unsound children there is an added 
reason for making education obligatory — the 
reason that has already been given for estab- 
lishing schools for defectives — namely, that of 
the protection of society and of the state. The 
state schools here refered to are for that class 
of educable defectives who need scientific or 
institutional treatment. They may be said to 
be a part of the public school system of the 
state, because they are free to all residents of the 
state, and are under the direction and control 
of the educational authorities of the state. 

The other class of educable defectives are 
those which should be educated directly in con- 
nection with the city or tow^n public schools. 
This will be done by separating them into small 
groups, and by placing over them skilled teach- 
ers, with the expectation that they will be 
treated for the most part individually with special 
ends in view. 

In cities or large towns in which there is a 

nc . , 1 £ J £ J.' ^ £ 'J. '^^^^'^ schools 

sumcient number of defectives to form mto f^j. defectives. 

groups, the plan will be simply to separate 

those of school age — say from seven to 

fourteen — into groups of ten or fifteen, and 

place the groups in convienient localities. If the 

number to be trained is large enough, there 

should be a classification according to attainment 

and capacity ; but it should be understood that 

the treatment of this class of pupils will be 



224 School Organization and Supervision 



Provision for 
country dis- 
tricts. 



chiefly individual. The experience of Provi- 
dence, R. I., and other cities with the schools of 
weak-minded and backward pupils shows what 
can be done with a class of children whose 
neglect means degradation and crime. So great 
is the menace to society of a continuance of this 
neglect, that the state is justified in obliging 
towns and cities to properly train in special 
schools all abnormal children who do not need 
the institutional treatment of which I have 
spoken. For the cities and large towns this will 
not be a difficult matter, as has been shown by 
experience. 

For country districts provision may be made 
for carrying the children to a central school, or 
for establishing small home schools in conven- 
ient localities. These schools should be under 
the charge and superintendence of the local 
public school authorities. In states like Massa- 
chusetts, where district supervision prevails, the 
schools may be under the direction of the super- 
intendent and district committee, the expense of 
the schools being borne by the towns from which 
the pupils come. In country districts whose 
unit of government is the county, the schools 
may be organized and controlled by the county 
board and county superintendent, and the ex- 
pense of carrying them on will be borne by the 
county. 

It is then, to summarize what has been said 
in this chapter, both right and feasible for all 
educable children to be included in the scope of 
the public school system, and to share in its ben- 



Schools for Defectives and Delinquents 225 

efits and its obligations. It is also right and 
feasible for the state to place all educable chil- 
dren of a certain age under the statutory re- 
quirement of compulsory school attendance, to 
the end of giving all its citizens the benefits of 
intelligence and self-support, and of guarding 
itself and society against the dangers of ignorance 
and crime. 



CHAPTER XII 

RECORDS AND REPORTS 

Only useful The first and most important consideration in 

records to be (determining: the character and amount of records 
to be made is that of use. The time has gone by 
for records of any kind to be made that are not 
distinctly serviceable in the interests of the 
schools. Traces of useless records of examina- 
tions and deportment of pupils and of fine book- 
keeping are found in some places; but generally 
it may be said that teachers and superintendents 
are too busy with the processes of education to 
spend much time in recording the supposed re- 
sults of it, or in keeping an elaborate system of 
account for show. 

The legal requirements with reference to school 
attendance, certification of teachers, course of 
studies, etc., differ in the various states and 
therefore the required records are correspond- 
ingly varied. Efforts have been made to estab- 
lish a plan of statistics in this country which 
wiU be uniform and at the same time be limited 
in their scope to items that are useful for com- 
parison. 

The most helpful scheme that has been made 
is one that was prepared by a committee of the 
National educational association in 1891. This 
report with a supplementary report made the 
following year has been adopted to a greater or 

C226) 



Records and Reports 227 

less extent in several states. The following out- Plan of statist- 
line was recommended for general adoption, icsrecommend- 
The items are arranged in three classes. The NationarEdu- 
first hst includes the essential facts which should cationai Asso- 
be gathered every year. The second list contains elation. 
statistics, to be furnished every second or 
third year. The third list consists of less essen- 
tial items which may be collected at still rarer 
intervals. 

I Fundamental Items 

1. Number of children of legal school age, 
classified by race and sex (school population) 

2. Number of pupils enrolled on the school 
registers (excluding duplicate registrations), 
classified by race and sex 

3. Average daily attendance, classified by race 
and sex 

4. Average length of school year (days) 

5. Number of teachers, classified by race and 
sex 

6. Number of pupils receiving kindergarten 
instruction, classified by race and sex 

7. Number of pupils receiving elementary in- 
struction (including kindergarten pupils), classi- 
fied by race and sex 

8. Number of pupils receiving secondary in- 
struction, classified by race and sex 

9. Number of students receiving higher in- 
struction 

10. Number of students in special schools 

11. Number of buildings used as schoolhouses 

12. Total seating capacity of such buildings 



228 School Organization and Supervision 

13. Value of all property used for school pur- 
poses 

14. Average monthly salaries of teachers, class- 
ified by race and sex 

15. Total school revenue, (1) Income from 
productive funds and rents, (2) State school fund, 

(3) Local taxes, (4) Other sources 

16. Total expenditure, (1) Salaries of teachers 
(including supervision), (2) Other current ex- 
penses, (3) Permanent expenditure (for build- 
ings, grounds, etc.) 

17. Amount of permanent invested funds 

// Less Essential But Desii^ahle Items 

18. Age classification of pupils enrolled. (1) 
Number of pupils under six, (2) Number of 
pupils between six and seven, etc., (3) Number 
of pupils between fifteen and sixteen, (4) Num- 
ber of pupils over sixteen. 

19. Number of cases of tardiness 

20. (1) Number of pupils born within the state 

(2) Number of pupils born in other states 

(3) Number of pupils born in foreign coun- 
tries 

21. Occupation of Parents (1) Agents, (2) 
Bankers and brokers, (3) Clerks and salesmen, 

(4) Domestic servants and waisters, (5) Draymen 
and teamsters : (and fifteen others) 

22. Average number belonging, including, tem- 
poraiy absentees 

23. Number of pupils in each branch of study 

24. Average age of pupils. Kindergarten, 
elementary, secondary, higher and special 



Records and Reports 229 

25 Normal schools (1) Number, (2) Enroll- 
ment in normal department, (3) Average attend- 
ance, (4) Number of teachers, (5) Expenses 

III Occasional Items 

26. Number of teachers who have taught less 
than two years, from two to five years, over 
five years 

27. Number of applicants for teachers certifi- 
cates, number who are certified 

28. Number of teachers graduates (1) of normal 
schools, (2) of universities and colleges, (3) of 
high schools, academies, etc., (4) who have 
received only an elementary education 

29 Number of pupils dropped and readmitted 
in the course of the year 

30 Number of hours in each school session 

31 Length of recesses or intermissions and time 
of beginning 

32 Number of cases of corporal punishment 

33 Number of pupils in each grade promoted 
to next higher grade 

Teachers'^ Annual and Monthly Reports. — It The danger of 
should be observed that the conditions differ requiring too 
widely in the various cities and towns, and that °^^^^ 
what is advisable or necessary in a large system 
of schools may not be needed in a small one. 
The danger lies in requiring of teachers too many 
records rather than too few. The question 
should always be asked, before any new statis- 
tics are required, "Are they actually needed to 
make more effective the work of the schools?*' 
If intelligent teachers and superintendents can- 



230 School Organization and Supervision 

not see any possible connection between the ends 
they desire to reach and the records they are re- 
quired to make, the requirements may well be 
reconsidered and revised. 
Annual re- No reference is made here to the registers , 

poi'ts. returns, and certificates whose forms are either 

designated by law or determined by the require- 
ments of state or national authorities. The 
forms of records are usually designated by blanks 
sent out from the central offices. Sometimes 
additional information is needed for the report 
of the school board for superintendent, such as is 
called for in the following set of questions : 

Report for the School Year ending 

school teacher."^ 

This blank and others which follow, are 
made from blanks in actual use. No credit is 
given, however, for the reason that in most cases 
some changes have been made. 

1. Number of pupils tardy, ; once, ; 

twice, ; three times, ; more than three 

times, . 

2. Whole number of cases of tardiness, . 

3. Number of pupils absent, ; one half 

day, ; two half days, ; more than one 

day, . 

4. Names of pupils neither absent nor tardy: 



^ This blank and others which follow, are 
made from blanks in actual use. No credit is 
given, however, for the reason that in most cases 
some changes have been made. 



Records and Reports 231 

5. Number of cases investigated by the truant 
officer, . 

6. Xumber of cases of truancy, . 

7. Number of pupils who have been truants, 
; once, ; twice, ; three times or more, 

8. Number of cases of corporal punishment, 

9. Number of pupils who have been corporally 
punished, ; once, ; more than once, . 

10. Aggregate number of days' attendance of 
all the pupils, . 

11. Number of days in which the school was 
in session, including legal holidays, . 

12. Number of seats, . 

13. Number of visits during the year: 

By members of the school committee, . 

By the superintendent of schools, . ^ 

By all others, . 

Monthly or term reports containing facts Monthly or 
which the superintendent desires to know or to term reports. 
have at hand are sometimes required from 
teachers, such as are called for in the following 
blank : — 

Keport for the month ending 

school teacher. 



1. Enrolment, . 

2. Average membership, 
Average attendance, - 



3. 



4. Per cent, of attendance, . 

5. Number of cases of tardiness, 

6. Number of pupils tardy, . 

7. Dismissals, . 



232 School Organization and Supervision 

8. Number of pupils neither absent nor 
tardy, . 

9. Number of cases of truancy, . 

[On the back of this sheet write the name, age and residence of 
each truant, and time of truancy.] 

10. Number of cases of corporal punish- 
ment, . 

11. On the back of this sheet give the follow- 
ing facts concerning non-resident pupils : Name, 

; name and residence of parent or guardian, 

; number of weeks attendance since begin- 

ing of school year, . 



Teachers' Teachers^ Special Reports. — A superintendent 

monthly or needs to have as intimate a knowledge as possi- 
record^ofwhat ^^^^^ ^^ what each teacher and school is doing, 
has been done. This knowledge he gets in part from personal 
inspection and in part from special reports of 
teachers, giving somewhat in detail the subjects 
that have been treated during a given period. 
The monthly or quarterly record of what has 
been done by each class is also useful to new 
and substitute teachers. It serves as a guide to 
such teachers in taking up the new work, and 
enables them at once to meet the needs of every 
class and pupil in an intelligent way. To aid 
teachers of graded schools in making the desired 
record, the following blank might be furnished 
them: — 

School record 

for the ending 

school teacher 



[To the teacher: Please fill this blank in duplicate at the close of 
the term, sending one copy to the superintendent of schools and 
leaving one copy in the desk of the school. If you are to leave 
the school in the middle of the term, please fill the blank for a 



Records and Reports 



233 



part of the term, disposing of the copies as before mentioned. On 
the other side of this sheet, under the head of remarks, give the 
kind of scholarship, characteristics, etc.] 



Subject 



Grade 



Reading, . 



Grade 



Space is to be given in the blank for each 
branch of study. 

On the reverse side of the sheet the blank will 
be as follows: — 

Pupils of grade 



Name 



Age 



Eemarks 



In ungraded -schools the work done might be 
outlined by subjects and classes, as indicated ^in 
the following blank : — 

Town of 

school teacher 

Class Record in [subject to be written here] 

[Here may be inserted directions to teachers, as given in 

previous blank] 



Class 


Number 
of pupils 


Record of work done 


First 













On the reverse side the name, age, etc., of the 
pupils will be written, as provided in the pre- 
vious blank. 



234 School Organization and Supervision 



Daily prog- 
ramme of ex- 
ercises to be 
sent to the 
superinten- 
dent. 



The information given in the school and class 
records is supplemented by a knowledge of what 
each school is doing daily and hourly. Such 
knowledge enables the superintendent to know 
when he may go to a school to hear any given 
exercise which he wishes to hear. The teacher 
should therefore send to the superintendent a 
carfully planned daily programme at the begin- 
ning of each term, or whenever a change in the 
programme is made. For purposes of clearness 
and definiteness, as well as of assistance to the 
teacher, forms similar to the following might be 
provided : — 

Order of exercises 

school grade 

teacher 



[Make two copies, one to be kept on the desk 
to the superintendent's office 


, the other to be sent 

n 
•J 


From 


To 


Recitation 


Study 



















Another form might be as follows : — 



Time 


Recitation 

1 


; Busy work and Study 


Begins 


Length 


Grade I 
(lowest) 


Grade II 


Grade III 


Grade IV 






1 
t 














1 









Still another form is suggested which will in- 
clude a statement of the amount of time given 



Records and Reports 



235 



to recitation and to study for each grade of pu- 
pils. For the assistance of teachers a suggested 
apportionment of recitation time for the various 
subjects might be printed on the blank. The 
following blank is designed for an ungraded 
school. It may be modified to suit circum- 
stances. 

Programme of daily recitations 

for the ending 190 

school teacher 



Subject 



Time 


1st 


2d 


3d 


4th 


5th 


6th 


7th 




Year 


Year 


Year 


Year 


Year 


Year 


Year 


From To 


1 2 


1 2 


1 2 


1 2 


1 2 


1 2 


1 2 



8th 
Year 

1 2 



Total time in scliool day, min. 

Opening exercises, min. 

Recesses, " 

Physical exercise, " 

Total, min. 

Time left for recitations, min. 

For first year pupils, miu. 

For second year pupils, miu. 

For third year pupils, min. 

For fourth year pupils, min. 

For fifth jear pupils, min. 

For sixth year pupils min. 

For seventh year pupils, ...min. 

For eighth year pupils, ^ min. 

Total ...... min. 



236 School Organization and Supervision 

Suggested Apportionment of Time to the Several Subjects of the 

Several Years 



GROUPS OP SUBJECTS 


1st 


2d 


3d 


4th 


5th 


6th 


7th 


8th 


I Language: including reading, 
writing, spelling, memory work. 
English, grammar, foreign lan- 
guage 


.42 


.42 


.38 


.32 


.32 


.32 


.32 


.33 


II Mathematics: including 
arithmetic, algebra, book-keep- 
ing, geometrical exercises 


.12 


.12 


.15 


.16 


.16 


.16 


.16 


.20 


Ill Elementabt Science: in- 
cluding nature study, physiology, 
geography, etc, . . 


.12 


.12 


.15 


.20 


.20 


.20 


.16 


.12 


IV History : incl ud!ng biography, 
history, civil government 


.10 


.10 


.10 


.12 


.12 


.12 


.15 


.15 


V Miscellaneous : including 
drawing and arts, industrial 
training and singing 


.24 


.34 


.22 


.20 


.20 


.2() 


,20 


.20 



EXPLANATION:— The 1 and 2 in columns marked 1st year, 
2d year, etc , may refer to divisions of the same class; or,^ in 
schools where promotion occur twice a year, may refer to First 
Half Year Pupils and Second Half Year Pupils. To indicate which 
division ofa class is reciting at a certain time, put a cross (x)u.nder 
1 or 2 in the proper Year column, on the line opposite the subject. 
If the class recites as a whole and not in divisions, put the cross 
(x) in the middle of the space, on the dotted line, in the proper Year 
column. "Where the exercise includes the whole school, put a 
cross (x) in dotted line in such Year column as there are classes in 
the school. 



Corporal pun- 
ishment report. 



The teacher should send to the superintendent 
the details of any important event of the school, 
such as a case of truancy or of corporal punish- 
ment. To aid him in giving full and exact infor- 
mation, blanks should be furnished in which the 
desired points are indicated. For example, in a 
case of corporal punishment such questions as the 
following might be given in the blank: — 

1. Name and age of person punished 

2. Date of punishment 

3. Manner and extent of punishment 

4. Witness 



Records and Reports 237 

5. What was the offence ? 

6. What do you know of his general charac- 
ter and home surroundings ? 

7. What previous offences has he com- 
mitted, and what means of correction were em- 
ployed ? 

8. State other facts of importance, such as 
responce of parents to reports, times of previous 
punishments, with results, etc. 

Reports to Parents. — To. secure the co-opera- Reports to 
tion of parents, occasional reports should be sent ^^^'^^^^ should 
them of the character of the work done in school simple. 
by their children. It is not necessary to send 
elaborate reports by percentages, nor is it neces- 
sary to send them very often. It is sufficient to 
send monthly or bi-monthly such information in 
respect to attendance, conduct and work in each 
subject as would be elicited in answer to the 
questions : How is my child doing in each branch 
of study ? What is his behavior ? This infor- 
mation should be given in the briefest possible 
form, cases requiring explanation being ' left 
to special reports, which will be referred to later. 

The report may be made upon a card of con- 
venient size or upon a stiff paper folder, and en- 
closed in a stiff paper envelope addressed to the 
parent. Letters may indicate the character of 
the work done, as A for excellent, B for good, C 
for fair, D for poor, and E for very poor. It 
would be well if the report for each branch of 
study could be given in a double column, so as 
to indicate both attainment and effort. Pro- 
-v^ision should be made either upon the face or 



238 School Organization and Supervision 



back of the report for the teacher's signature and 
also for the parent's signature to be made every 
time the report is sent home. There should be 
a careful explanation of the meaning of the let- 
ters, and a statement of what is desirable for the 
parent to do in the interests of the child. 

The following form of report is suggested as 
practical. With some variations, it is used with 
success in many schools. If thought best, the 
statement to parents could be made in the name 
of the superintendent of schools, on the reverse 
side. In this case it might be well for a fuller 
statement to be made, embodying the aims and 
purposes of the schools, and the desirability of a 
co-operation on the part of the parents. 
Public Schools 

Eeport of 

school class 









T3 













" — 















— 










0/ 
































~^ 




« 












a 
















Signature 


For 

THE 

MONTH 

OF 


'XI 

c3 

XI 


0) 


a 

CO 


o 

d 
73 


30 


-5 


'X3 


u 


o 

o 
a 

a 


eS 

s 


£ 


a 










of parent 

or 
guardian 




!>. 


B 


q 


a 


rr^ 


cs 




a> 


cs 


.t^ 


o 














ee 




o 


1— 1 


OJ 


^ 


P. 


o 


(h 


^ 


03 














O 


Eh 


E-i 


o 


W 


!K 


o 


o 


-JJ 


O 












Sept., . 




Oct., . 




































Nov., . 


































. 


Dec, . 




































Jan., . 





































To the parent or guardian: A means excellent; B, good; C, fair ; D, poor 
E, very poor ; If the scholarship or deportment continues to be poor, will you 
please call at the schoolroom for further particulars, especially if health or anj 

other circumstance prevents from doing more work. Irregularity of at' 

tendance greatly interferes with the progress of the pupil, and may oblige 

to repeat the work of a term or year. You are cordially invited to visit the 
school at any time. Please sign and return as soon as possible. 

, teacher 



Records and Reports 239 

For cases of pupils who are thought to be able Various forms 
to do a greater amount of work, and who may ^^ reports to . 
with extra effort be entitled to a special promo- 
tion to a higher class, a form of letter may be 
furnished the teacher to be filled out of some 
such nature as the following : — 

does the work of the class so well and so easily that I am 

led to believe will be able with some extra work to go into a 

higher class before the regular time of promotion. If in your 

opinion health will warrant taking up extra work, and if 

you think it desirable for to do so, will you kindly inform me, 

or call at the schoolroom soon for consultation. 

If for any reason a pupil does the work as- 
signed to him so poorly as to render his reten- 
tion in his class doubtful, his parents ought to be 
informed of the fact in sufficient time for them 
to co-operate with the teacher in securing from 
the pupil a greater degree of effort if deemed 
desirable. At least two months before the reg- 
ular time for promotion a letter in some such 
terms as are expressed in the following blank 
will be found useful both in securing the co- 
operation of the parents and in preventing possi- 
ble complaints : — 

You will see by monthly report that is not doing thor- 
oughly the work assigned. Thus far this term neither the daily 
work nor the written examinations indicate that it will be best 

for to go into a higher division next ,but that it may be 

necessary for to review the present studies another term. 

If, however, you think it possible or best for to do more work, 

will you please call here at the schoolroom or drop me a note, so 
that we can have a better understanding of needs and capa- 
city, and arrange the work with reference to them. 



240 School Organization and Supervision 



A continuous 
record of the 
condition of 
children. 



The co-operation of parents is especially 
needed in dealing with unruly pupils. It may 
be secured by the teacher sending a letter in the 
following terms: — 

You will see by moathly report that deportment has 

not been good. I am sorry to inform you that it is still unsatis- 
tory. I think it best to inform you of the fact before any seri- 
ous form of punishment is resorted to. 

In all the blanks for letters here mentioned it 
will be understood that dotted lines for the date, 
address and subscription will be printed, also 
lines for special explanations by the teacher. 

PupiVs record. The recording of a general 
statement of each pupil's characteristics men- 
tioned above suggests the desirability of extend- 
ing the record so as to give details and to cover 
a period of years, somewhat after the manner of 
the life book kept in the schools of France. The 
jecord may be made periodically, as at the close 
of a term or year, or it may be made whenever 
a noteworthy observation is made of any pupil's 
conduct or work. The following blanks suggest 
the simplest method of following the former 
plan: — 



Records and Reports 



241 



Born in- 



; on- 



Name, 

Parent's name,- 



Address,- 



Gradb 










































Year 


1906-1907 


1907-1908 


1908-1909 


1909-1910 


1910-1911 


Quarter . . . 


1 


2 


3 


4 


1 


3 


3 


4 


1 


2 


3 


4 


1 


2 


3 


4 


1 2 

1 


3 


4 


Days present 
Scholarship. 

Efifort 

Conduct .... 











































A means excellent ; B, good ; C, fair ; D, poor ; E, very poor. 



Name,- 
Parent,- 



Place and Date of Birth,- 



a 
o 

O 



o 
o 

72 


O 
CO fl 

CO 
< 


* 

o 

a 


ft 

cri 
O 
03 


Weak Points 

in 
Scholarship 


ol 

o ft 


4>> 

u 
a 






























































A more elaborate and in some respects a more 
useful record would be that made in small note- 
books, one notebook being devoted to each pu- 
pil, and being intended for a series of years. 
The record could be made at regular or irregular 
times. The pages of the book might be blank 



242 School Organization and Supervision 

for staments of any kind that the teacher is dis- 
posed to make, or have printed upon them topics 
or questions to indicate to the teacher desirable 
points of information. The following blank 
page is suggested: — 

1. Date of observation 

2. Age of pupil, years, months, days 

3. Sight (good or defective) 

4. Hearing (good or defective) 

5. General health (good, fair, poor) 

6. Temperament (nervous, equable, sluggish) 

7. Power of observation (good, fair, poor) 

8. Power of attention (good, fair, poor) 

9. Power of application (good, fair, poor) 

10. Memory: verbal, ; thought 

11. Imagination: reproductive, ; creative 

12. Language: ; originality ; fluency 

13. Reasoning (good, fair, poor) 

14. Leading feeling through which to govern 

15. Self-control (good, fair, poor) 

16. Industry (good, fair, poor) 

17. Obedience 

18. Truthfulness 

19. Trustfulness 

20. Subject of deepest interest 

21. Objectionable habits 

22. General remarks 

The study and knowledge of individual chil- 
dren such as is implied in a proper filling out of 
the above blank tw^o or three times a year may 
not be possible under conditions which now ex- 
ist in most places; but in time to come, when the 
largest number of pupils that one teacher will be 
expected to know and teach is thirty, not only 



Records and Reports 243 

will it be possible for such a study of individual 
children to be made, but there will grow out of 
it (if good teachers are peimitted to teach) such 
corrective and constructive individual work as 
will enable each child to do the most that he is 
capable of doing and be the most that he is cap- 
able of being. Then will be accomplished the 
purpose of education, which Plato declared to be 
'- the giving to the body and to the mind all the 
beauty and all the perfection of which they are 
capable". 



APPENDICES 



The Evolution of School Supervision 



APPENDIX A. 

The evolution of a sj^stem of public education, or Conditions 
of any function of it, is best seen where the will of most favorable 

the people has had full and free opportunity to ex- t e im- 

provement oi a 
press itself, and where sufficient time has elapsed to gyg^em of pub- 
allow experiments to be tried and mistakes to be lic education, 
corrected. The place in this country in which these 
conditions have been most fully met must be ad- 
mitted to be IMassachusetts. In that State, whatever 
may be said of the mistakes and failures that have 
been made, they Avere the results of conditions for 
which the people themselves were responsible, 
and which the people only, either directly or in- 
directly, could permanently improve. Moreover, 
when the conditions were improved, the improve- 
ments were not superimposed from without, upon an 
unwilling or an unthinking people, but were made 
the basis of still further improvement. Only in this 
way does a democratic state avoid the dangers of 
frequently changing legislation. 

In speaking of the experience of Massachusetts, 
Dr. William T. Harris says:* ''In studying the 
records of this State one is impressed by the fact 
that every new movement has run the gauntlet of 
fierce and bitter opposition before adoption. The 
ability of the conservative party has always been 

* Martin's Evolution of the Massachusetts public school 
system, p. viii. 

(247) 



248 



Appendix A 



Four epochs of 
school super- 
vision in 
Massachusetts. 



School super- 
vision, from 
1647 to 1189. 



conspicuous, and the friends of the new measure 
have been forced to exert all their strength, and to 
eliminate, one after another, the objectionable fea- 
tures discovered in advance by their enemies. To 
this fact is due the success of so many of the re- 
forms and improvements that have proceeded from 
this State. The fire of criticism has purified the 
gold from the dross in a large measure already, 
before the stage of practical experiment has begun.'' 

There have been up to the present time four quite 
distinctly marked periods or epochs of school 
supervision in Massachusetts. The first period was 
a time in which supervision consisted only of such 
oversight and direction of the schools as each com- 
munity or municipality saw fit to provide, with no 
legal limitation or obligation beyond the duty of 
providing teachers and places for schools. 

This period dates from the passage of the or- 
dinance of 1647, by which all towns of a given 
number of householders were obliged to support 
schools of a certain kind. No provision was made 
in this law for the appointment of officials to see 
that the schools were established and maintained or 
to oversee them. As a matter of fact, these func- 
tions of supervision were performed in various ways 
by the towns. In some towns the school or schools 
were established and controlled by the electors 
themselves in town-meeting. In others these duties, 
or a portion of them, were committed to the resi- 
dent ministers of the gospel and selectmen — or to 
the ministers alone. In some cases special commit- 
tees were appointed either alone or in conjunction 
with the ministers and selectmen to employ the 
teachers and superintend the schools. The election 
of teachers was determined in part by the law which 



Evolution of School Supervision 249 

provided that the master of the grammar school 
was to be approved by the minister of the town and 
those of the two next adjacent towns.* 

As may be supposed, the methods of supervision 
in this early time varied quite as much as did the 
means of organization, depending largely upon the 
interests and disposition of the persons employed 
to look after the schools. As these persons were 
quite generally clergymen, and as the importance of 
their function in education w^s universally recog- 
nized, it may be presumed that the religious or theo- 
logical interests of the children were carefully 
guarded by all directive agencies possible. Thus 
it was that the ministers examined the children 
regularly upon the catechism and Bible and upon 
the sermon of the preceding Sunday. This might 
be done by the minister alone, or by him in con- 
junction with his colleagues in their regular formal 
visits. 

The beginning of a new period in the history of School com- 
school supervision was marked by the passage of a ^^^t^^s author- 
law in 1789, which authorized the employment 
by the towns of a special committee to look after 
the schools. This was the first legal recogni- 
tion of any function of supervision beyond the em- 
ployment and examination of teachers. It marked 
the beginning of that system of town and city super- 
vision by school committees which now so exten- 
sively prevails. The practice, under the new law, 
of placing the schools in the charge of school com- 
mittees, increased, until in 1826 it was made obliga- 
tory by law. 

The same law which authorized the employment 

* Acts and resolves of the province of Massachusetts Bay, 
i., p. 470. 



250 



Appendix A 



The beginning 
of the district 
system. 



Paults and 
weaknesses 
of the district 
system. 



of special town committees sanctioned the already 
common practice of dividing the towns into districts 
in Avhich schools might be established. The enact- 
ment of this law was the beginning of the celebrated 
district system, which was destined to test to the 
uttermost the benefits and dangers of extreme local 
government in the direction of school affairs. In 
rapid succession the districts grew in importance 
in relation to the management of the schools, from 
the possession of power to hold meetings of citizens 
and decide upon schoolhouse sites to that of raising 
money for buying land and for building and furnish- 
ing the school buildings, until in 1827 each district 
was authorized to be represented by a man— elected 
either by the town or district — Avho was endowed 
with authority to employ the teacher. 

It is hardly possible to conceive a plan of super- 
vision which has more elements of weakness than 
law^ just referred to. Two different and frequently 
hostile agencies were employed— a prudential com- 
that which prevailed soon after the adoption of the 
mittee and a town committee jealous of their pre- 
rogatives as examiners and supervisors. When 
there was not collision between these two agencies 
there was likely to be collusion— and it is difficult to 
say which wrought most confusion and mischief to 
the schools. "The passage of the law providing for 
the creation of the office of prudential committees," 
says George H. Martin in his Evolution of the Massa- 
chusetts school system, "marks the utmost limit to 
the sub-division of American sovereignty— the high- 
water mark of modern democracy and the low-water 
mark of the Massachusetts school system."* 

The third period, which may well be called the 

*Page 92. 



Evolution of School Supervision 251 

dark period of supervision, extended to the time The dark 

when towns in large numbers, seeing the disastrous peno^ofsuper- 

vision, 
consequences of this dual system, voluntarily abol- 
ished that part of it— the district system— which 
prevented the securing of the best teachers. If 
there were apathy, ignorance, and misdirection in 
respect to supervision during this period, there were 
also signs of a real awakening of popular interest in 
the common schools. The existence of wrong 
methods of supervision and consequent results in 
poor schools aroused a group of enthusiastic re- 
formers who were most diligent in pointing out the 
necessity of a more adequate provision for the 
schools. Horace Mann, James G. Carter, Charles 
Brooks, Edmund Dwight, and other leaders, each 
in his own way, set to w^ork for a better order of 
things. And although they did not immediate^ se- 
cure all the results they hoped for, enough was done 
to give an impetus to education which was most 
potent in forming our modern system of common 
schools. 

Through the efforts of these men normal schools Progressive 

were founded, a general school fund was raised, and ^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^ 

r. p lished. 

a State Board of Education was established. All 

these formative measures had a powerful and direct 

effect upon the administration of the public schools, 

first in helping to abolish the district system, and, 

secondly, in leading school committees to improve 

their means and methods of supervision. Ever after 

the establishment of the State Board of Education 

in 1837 the board and its secretary and agents were 

most assiduous in their efforts to induce the towns 

to maintain the town system alone, and to secure the 



252 



Appendix A 



Work of the 
state board of 
education. 



Members of 
school com- 
mittees ap- 
pointed as 
supervisors. 



passage of a law which would forbid the district 
system to be adopted in any town.* 

While it was rendering this service it was at the 
same time in various ways helping the school com- 
mittees to improve the character of their supervision. 
Two circumstances seemed to contribute to this end : 
first, the necessity of having a number of well- 
educated men on the school committee able to ex- 
amine candidates presented for teachers' places^ 
and, secondly, the ever-advancing standard of re- 
quirements for teachers. While the normal schools 
aided not a little in encouraging a demand for better 
teachers, it was largely to the constant and eloquent 
appeals of Horace Mann, through addresses and 
reports, that the people came to recognize the im- 
portance of securing the best teachers possible. 

It is a significant fact that with the improvement 
of the teaching there grew up an ever-increasing- 
need of more and better supervision on the part of 
school committees. It was by the various school 
committees, as expressed in their reports, that the 
demands for what is now called skilled supervision 
were most urgently made. At first one and another 
board of school committee selected one of its own 
number to perform the duties of supervision, on the 
plea, doubtless, that even an unprofessional super- 
visor employed all the time could do the work more 
intelligently than could several men in odd times of 
a busy life. Thus' the school committees of Cam- 
bridge in 1836 and of Gloucester in 1850 had each 



* The district system was abolished in 1859, and the act of 
abolition was repealed the same year. It was again abolished 
in 1869. A law was passed in 1870 allowing any town by a 
two-thirds vote to re-establish the system. It was finally abol- 
ished in 1882. 



Evolution of School Supervision 253 

delegated to a member certain supervisory duties, 
and had designated him superintendent of schools. 

The first instance of the appointment of a superin- The appoint- 
tendent of schools other than that of a member of ^^^^ of super- 
the school committee was in Springfield in 1840. f Pendents in a 

rrti -11 • T • 1 • ^6"^ towns. 

ine superintendent who was appointed remained in 
office but two years. The first permanent appoint- 
ment of such an official was made in Boston in 1851. 
From that time the experiment was regarded as a 
success, and in 1854 a law was passed, amended in 
1857 and 1860, authorizing towns and city councils 
to require the school committee ''to appoint a super- 
intendent of public schools who, under the direction 
and control of said committee, shall have the care 
and supervision of the schools. ' ' Under this law the skilled super- 
cities and large towns, one after another, adopted vision author- 
the plan of supervision by superintendents, until in ^^^^ ^J ^^^ 
1879, twenty-five years after the permissive bill was 
passed, thirty-five cities and large towns had em- 
ployed superintendents for full or nearly full time. 

During all these years in which the cities and Supervision 
large towns were providing' themselves with skilled ^^^' ^^^ smaller 
superintendents, the desirability of making some ^^nspiovi 
provision by which the smaller towns of the Com- 
monwealth could have the benefit of this supervision 
was constantly urged by the Board of Education 
and its executive officers. It is not necessary here 
to give in detail the history of the struggle in behalf 
of this extended supervision. Suffice to say that in 
1888 a law was passed by which two or more towns 
were permitted to join together in employing a 
superintendent of schools, the expense therefor to 
be largely borne by the State. This law was 
amended at various times, and under its provisions 
during the following twelve years a large majority 



254 



Appendix A 



Skilled super- 
intendents 
made manda- 
tory. 



The superin- 
tendent an ex- 
pert advisor 
and director, 
not an over- 
seer. 



The law of 
1888 strength- 
ened and im- 
proved. 



of the towns concerned accepted the provisions of 
the law and formed themselves into districts. 

So strong was the sentiment in favor of the meas- 
ure that, folloAving the time-honored practice of 
allowing mandatory legislation to wait upon the 
results of permissive laws, the legislature of 1900 
passed a bill obliging the school committees of all 
towns and cities to employ a superintendent of 
schools after July 1, 1902, those towns having a val- 
uation of less than tw^o and a half million dollars to- 
be governed by the law relating to union districts. 
This bill was passed in full recognition of the great 
principles that teaching and training children need 
the direction of trained experts, and that what 
affects for good or ill one part of the State affects all 
parts. 

It took the liberty-loving people of Massachusetts 
more than a century of tribulation and effort to 
learn these great truths, but the end attained was 
w^orth all it cost. So long as teaching w^as a trade^ 
an overseer only was needed — someone to see that 
the quantity of service was what it should be ; but 
as soon as it became a profession the service of an 
expert adviser and director was demanded to make 
sure that the quality of the v/ork done was of the 
right kind. 

Under the law of 1888 all unions w^ere made by 
the voluntary action of the towns, each town elect- 
ing what district it shall join. To prevent the 
possibility^ of towns being left without a superin- 
tendent, a laAv was passed in 1903 making it the duty 
of the State Board of Education to form or readjust 
union districts whenever it is necessary to do so. 
A change in the law was soon after made whereby 
district superintendents must receive from the State 



Evolution of School Supervision 255 

Board a certificate of qualification before they can 
be elected. * 

It is difficult to contrast the supervision of seventy- The kind of 
five or fifty years ago with that of the present day, supervision 
as there is no record preserved of what was done ty years ago. 
in the earlier time. It is safe, however, to assume- 
that in most places not much directive or even sug- 
gestive influence was exerted upon the schools be- 
yond the formal visits of the school committee, at 
which their superior knowledge was aired, the pupils 
surcharged with platitudes and advice which they 
could not understand, and the teacher flattered by 
the assurance that most excellent progress had been 
made. 

The annual reports also of former times cannot 
be said to have greatly affected the schools or public 
interest in them, for they were generally filled with 
glittering generalities concerning education, and 
fine-spun commonplaces respecting the virtues or 
faults of youth or the duties of parents. In many 
instances the reports are found to contain such state- 
ments respe,cting the condition of the schools as to 
give assurance that perfection was reached, or 
from repeated statements of continued improvement 
that the schools at one time must have been in a 
deplorable condition. When called upon to descend 
to particulars in their report, the school committee 
made a running commentary upon each school of the 
tov/n, or tried to show the importance of giving 
more time to spelling and arithmetic. 

While there are vestiges remaining in modern 
practice of these archaic remains of innocent official 
diversions, there are positive evidences of a distinct 

* The details of supervision under district plan are given 
in Appendix B. 



256 



Appendix A 



advance on all lines of active professional direction 
of school affairs. Where superintendents are em- 
ployed the schools are inspected and examined by 
persons who have made a lifelong study of education, 
and who have won the right to lead the teachers, by 
years of successful practice. They are given by the 
school committees large powers in all the details of 
school administration which require professional 
knowledge and experience. The extent of those 
Present pow- powers is shown by answers to recent inquiries sent 
ers of superin- to the superintendents of schools in 233 cities and 
tendeuts of towns of Massachusetts. The following table shows 
the degree and extent of authority given to these 
superintendents. 



schools. 



DUTIES 



1. Selection of text-books 

2. Selection of reference books 

3. Selection of apparatus 

4. Making of course of studies 

5. N o m i n a t i o n or certification of 

teachers 

6. Appointment of teachers 

7. Suspension of teachers 

8. Dismissal of teachers 

9. Inspection and direction of teachers' 

work 

10. Calling and conducting teachers' 

meetings 

11. Promotion of pupils 



Number of Towns in which 
Certain Degrees op Authority 
ARE Exercised by Superin- 
tendents 











u a 




>> 






® -3 


a 


O 
m 




^ 




c 


-d 


o 


s 


^ 


< 


•-5 


fe 


^ t) 


8 


85 


44 


92 


4 


9 


88 


38 


93 


5 


6 


81 


35 


103 


8 


3 


41 


21 


164 


4 


19 


67 


40 


95 


12 


45 


89 


60 


21 


18 


41 


104 


56 


16 


16 


48 


102 


61 


15 


7 




3 


8 


218 


4 




1 


2 


22 i 


5 


4 


16 


19 


187 


7 



The figures cited make a remarkable showing. 
They show that to a large majority of the superin- 
tendents practically full power is given in the in- 
spection and direction of the teachers' work and 
in calling and conducting teachers' meetings. If 



Evolution of School Supervision 257 

their powers stopped here, their appointment would 
be justified. But they are given further duties 
which bear directly upon the welfare of the schools. 
About 40% of them have full authority in the nom- 
ination of teachers and in the selection of text-books, 
reference books, and apparatus, while nearly all the 
others have advisory or joint authority in perform- 
ing those duties. In over 70% of the places reported 
the superintendent has full power in making courses 
of studies, and in over 80% of them he has full 
power in all matters of promotions of pupils. 

The significance of these facts may be more fully 
realized when it is considered that they relate to 
persons who, with few exceptions, give their entire 
time to the business of supervision,* and whose work 
extends over all the schools of the State. 

The professional character of their work is further The profession- 
assured by the fact, shown in the returns, that about ^1 character of 
three-fourths of them are college or university grad- ™ 
uates, and have had an average of over 12 years' ex- 
perience in teaching. Of the remaining number 
nearly all are either graduates of normal schools or 
have been students in college from one to three 
years. 

This statement of present conditions does not take Supervision of 
into account the supervision that is quite generally principals and 
placed in the hands of grammar-school principals in special teach- 
the cities and large towns. There are at least one 
hundred municipalities in which the grammar-school 
principals, under the direction of superintendents, 
have from eight to thirty schoolrooms to visit for 

* Of the 162 professional superintendents now engaged in 
265 cities and towns, 23 are principals of high or grammar 
schools. Three others are employed only a portion of the 
time. 



258 



Appendix A 



No exact 
measure of im- 
provement in 
supervision 
possible. 



Work actually 
accomplished 
by superin- 
tendents. 



the purpose of supervising the work done. The 
supervisory duties performed by special teachers of 
manual training, singing, physical culture, and draw- 
ing ought also to be considered in making up a 
record of what is now done in supervision. Nearly 
all of the 143 special teachers of drawing, and a 
large proportion of the 186 special teachers of sing- 
ing, have more or less supervision of the work done 
in these branches by the regular teachers. 

A complete statement of the changed character of 
supervision in Massachuestts would involve a de- 
scription and comparison of detailed methods exist- 
ing at various times. That, however, is manifestly 
impossible on account of the meagreness of data 
concerning past methods now attainable and the 
great variety of methods employed at the present 
time. No two superintendents, for example, will be 
likely to agree upon the precise methods employed 
in conducting teachers' meetings or inspecting 
schools; yet in these respects, as in all other duties 
that have been noted, the tendency in recent years 
toward what may be called professionalism in super- 
vision has been most marked. 

Instead of commending merely formal and memo- 
riter work, and examining in such a v/ay as to en- 
courage such work, as was formerly the case, super- 
intendents have become more and more urgent in 
requiring thoughtful and original work from pupils. 

The teachers have been helped by superintendents 
in an increasing measure to employ rational methods 
of teaching rather than imitative devices. They 
have been more fully supported in an exercise of 
freedom and individuality in their work, and have 
been assisted to learn in good ways the principles 
of their profession. In short, there have been no 



Evolution of School Supervision 259 

great progressive movements in public-school educa- 
tion in which superintendents have not had a prom- 
inent part, both in shaping and in fostering them. 
No more convincing testimony to the value of skilled 
supervision could be offered than that which is freely 
given by our best teachers, who invariably prefer to 
teach where such supervision exists, by which they 
are supported in their best efforts and are led to 
greater proficiency in their profession. 

Broadly speaking, the history of public education Two periods of 
in Massachusetts may be said to have had two public educa- 
periods— one in which the people in their fidelity ^^^^ ^^ Massa- 
to local self-government kept the immediate manage- 
ment of the schools in their own hands, and the other 
in which the people with a control of the schools 
no less strong than before, sought in increasing 
measure to give into the hands of educational ex- 
perts the direction of that part of the work of the 
schools which required professional knowledge and 
skill. It is the tendency of this later period which 
helps us to forecast the school supervision of the 
future. It may be assumed with confidence that 
the schools or their management will not be widely 
separated from the control of the people. It is safe 
also to assume that the schools will be so far re- 
moved from such control as to warrant independence 
and wisdom of action on the part of school commit- 
tees and superintendents. 

If these assumptions are correct, the school com- Desirable con- 
mittees will not under any circumstances be ap- ditions respect- 
pointed officials, but will be elected directly by the i°/ the number 
, „, 1 <> 1 • • of members of 

people. Ihe number oi members constituting a ^^i^qqi ^oard 

board will be small— not in any case over twelve, and and their term 
generally less than seven. Their term of office v/ill of service, 
be sufficiently long for them to acquire a good knowl- 



260 



Appendix A 



The respective 
duties of 
school boards 
and superin- 
tendents to be 
.defined. 



A business 
agent in cities 
and large 
towns. 



edge of their duties, and will expire at such times 
as to enable a majority of the members to remain in 
continuous service. 

Following the best practice of the past, we shall 
expect to find in the supervision of the future a unity 
of service and at the same time a well-defined line 
of separation between the duties of the general 
supervisory board on the one hand and those of the 
expert supervisory force on the other. The school 
committee as a board will have general charge of the 
schools, all matters of detail being left to ex- 
ecutive officers who will be held responsible for 
results to the general board. In all matters relating 
directly to the work of the schools the superintend- 
ent will take the initiative, and in some of these 
matters he will have full power. He will take the 
initiative in the selection of teachers and choice of 
text-books, and he will have full power in the 
making of courses of study, in the placing of pupils 
in school, and in the direction of the teachers' 
work. The school-attendance officers and directors 
of hygiene will be under his direction, and such 
other executive officers as have to do directly with 
the work of the schools. 

In cities and large towns there will be a business 
agent who will attend to all matters of buildings 
and of supplies other than school equipment. In 
towns where such an agent cannot be exclusively 
employed, the work will be delegated to such per- 
sons as can perform the service most effectively and 
economically.* 

* Full details of the history of school supervision in Mas- 
sachusetts and the duties of superintendents of schools are 
given in a special report upon city and town supervision of 
schools, printed in the Sixty-third annual report of the Massa- 
chusetts board of education, p. 291-330. 



Evo lution of Sc hoo I Supervision 261 

When the respective duties of the school commit- District com- 

tee and its superintendent are determined, and both mittees and 

parties trust each other, there will be no need of any ^^^^ f^f^^\ 
f committees to 

intermediary agencies, of district committees, com- ^^g given up. 

mittees on text-books and supplies, and on nomina- 
tion of teachers. These nesting-places of jobbery 
and trades will exist only in memory of the time 
when the people permitted their schools to become 
a prey to political ambition and selfish greed. The 
school board of the future will act as a whole in all 
matters of business, and as a whole will meet such 
recommendations of the superintendent, relating to 
educational questions, as need its action. 

In large places some supervisory duties will be Assistants to 

delegated to assistant superintendents, principals of ^^P^"° ^^' 

11 T . . -, 1 -r^ dents m large 

schools, and, m rare cases, to special teachers. But, pieces 

in any case, there will be but one superintendent, 

who alone will be held responsible to the board, and 

who, therefore, must see to it that all supervisory 

agencies under him are in full accord with his policy. 

As has been intimated, the functions here outlined Assurance of 

are confidentlv regarded as belonging to the school P^^S^^®^ ^° 

. , *" o » ^ future, 

supervision of the future because they are the logical 

outcome of past and present tendencies. With 
equal confidence, and for the same reason, they 
may be expected to be universally adopted through- 
out the State by such legislation as will make them 
compulsory. 

When the present law, compelling all towns to A forecast of 
employ professional superintendents, has been tested, what may be 
and when the present practice, in many places, of ^^P^^ ^ 
giving large responsible powers into the hands of 
the superintendent becomes well-nigh universal, 
protection from the possible dangers of charlatanism 
and politics will be asked for all towns and cities of 



262 Appendix A 

the Commonwealth which are not disposed to pro- 
tect themselves— and it will be granted by the 
passage of a law defining the duties of the general 
supervisory board and of the superintendent. When 
that time comes, place-seekers for the sake of gain 
or of bestowing favors upon friends will no longer 
press their claims for membership upon school 
boards, and only those persons will be elected to 
that office who take a strong interest in the schools 
and who are willing to give their best energies for 
them. 

Thus far in this statement matters of local super- 
vision only have been referred to. The fact that the 
authority and duties of the State Board of Educa- 
tion in Massachusetts have remained essentially 
the same for upwards of sixty years is warrant for 
believing that the supervision of the future will 
not be centralized to the extent of having large 
responsibilities in the hands of officials far removed 
from the people. There will doubtless be in the 
future, as in the past, an increasingly high standard 
of educational effort and attainment required 
throughout the Commonwealth; but that standard 
will be set by the people, through their representa- 
tives, and be embodied in statute law. 
]^eeded This law will define a minimum of qualifica- 

features in tions for superintendents and for teachers, whose 

statute laws re- professional preparation will be assumed by the 
latingt_o school ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^.^^ ^^^.^^ .. r^^^ ^^^-^^ 

functions of the State Board of Education will be 
to provide this preparation by the maintenance of 
normal and training schools for all classes of 
teachers, to see that all State aid for schools is 
wisely distributed, to see that the responsibility of 
maintaining a high degree of effort on the part of 



supervision. 



Evolution of School Supervision 



263 



the towns is fully met, and to advise school officials 
as to good means and methods of keeping their 
schools up to a high standard of excellence. Besides 
all this, it will continue to be the duty of the board 
and its executive officers to arouse the interest and 
enthusiastic devotion of the people in behalf of the 
public schools. 

What has been said thus far pertains to conditions 
which exist in Massachusetts. It may be assumed, 
therefore, that the conclusions reached belong only 
to that state. But if the principles stated as to the 
relation of the people to the schools are true, and if 
the process of growth outlined is a natural process 
of evolution, the conclusions reached will apply, not 
only to Massachusetts, but to every other state as 
v/ell. The duties of the state and local boards of 
administration will be so adjusted that the functions 
of the former will be only general and advisory, 
while the functions of the latter will be limited only 
by wise general law^s. Administrative boards will 
not be given skilled supervisory and executive duties 
which belong to the superintendent alone. Superin- 
tendents will not be burdened with financial and 
judicial duties which belong either to the administra- 
tive board or to a court of law, nor will the field of 
their work be so extended that they cannot have 
an intimate knowledge of each school under their 
charge and be able to direct wisely the work of 
each teacher. 

The exact form of legislation and administration 
in other states is not likely to be the same as it is 
or will be in Massachusetts, nor need the steps lead- 
ing to a well-adjusted system^ of supervision else- 
where be so slow or difficult as they have been in 
that State, but the features of both organization and 



The duties of 
state and local 
boards to be 
outlined in all 
states. 



Forms of legis- 
lation and ad- 
ministration 
not to be the 
same in all 
states. 



264 Appendix A 

means of applying it will be eventually quite alike 
in all states. That is, there will be maintained 
throughout the country that true equilibrium of 
central and local processes which will insure steadi- 
ness of purpose in establishing and maintaining high 
ideals of public education. Moreover, there will be 
that ''peaceful, concerted action throughout the 
whole, without infringing upon local and individual 
freedom in the parts" which John Fiske declares to 
be the "chief aim of civilization viewed on its polit- 
ical side."* 
A forward When that time comes the dangers of centralized 

^^^^' authority on the one hand and of misguided self- 

government on the other will no longer exist ; school 
boards Tv^ill not be found wrestling with educational 
theories and their application for the purpose of 
winning the applause of an admiring constituency; 
school superintendents will no longer be forced to 
exhaust their energies in keeping records and sta- 
tistics for purposes of show, or in doing the errands 
of school boards; teachers will not be prevented 
from doing their best work by unwise or conflicting 
directions from superior officers; and the people, 
regarding the schools as the surest protection from 
the dangers of individual and social degeneracy, 
will not be willing to give them into the hands of 
unw^orthy persons who would use the trust for selfish 
or political ends. Finally, and in a word, when the 
duties of supervision become properly adjusted, the 
evolutionary lines of progress will no longer lie in 
methods of administration merely, but in the de- 
velopment of the powers of the child in the light 
of an ever-growing sense of his nature, his needs^ 
and the great ends for which he is placed in the 

world. 

* American political ideas, p. 6. 



The Supervision of Rural Schools 

APPENDIX B. 

The difficulties in the way of carrying out in rural Difficulties of 

districts the principles of administration as defined of school super- 

-,• -11 1, ^-1 1 1 1 J vision in rural 

m preceamg pages will be readily acknowledged. ^- . - ^ 

In fact up to a comparatively recent period, few 

attempts have been made to do more in the way of 

supervision than to make provision for the necessary 

beginning and continuance of the schools. 

It is true that in some of the newer sections of 
the country efforts were made almost coincident 
with the establishment of the schools to maintain a 
certain kind of supervision which was thought to be 
superior to the non-professional supervision formerly 
exercised by school committees in the country towns 
of New England. But it must be admitted that 
the results of these efforts have been very meagre. 

County supervision in most states does little be- County supei 
yond preventing the employment of grossly incompe- 
tent teachers and the maintenance of a certain low 
standard of work in the merely formal subjects. In 
some places it is difficult to see, from the character 
of the organization, how even these ends can be 
accomplished. The inadequacy of salary offered to 
superintendents, the wide extent of country over 
which they have to pass in their visits to the schools, 
the amount of non-professional duties put upon 
them, all conspire to prevent the adoption of that 
system of skilled supervision which is found easy to 
organize in cities and large towns. 

In general it must be said that changes of school 

(265) 



vision in- 
adequate 



266 



Appendix B 



Changes to be 
gradual and 
agree with ex- 
isting political 
organization. 



Plan of super- 
vision in Rich- 
mond Co., 
Georgia. 



School tax 
levied and 
collected by 
county board. 



School fund 
distributed ac- 
cording to the 
needs of each 
ward and dis- 
trict. 



organization should be effected gradually and agree 
in spirit at least with the existing political organiza- 
tion. It would seem necessary, however, for some 
radical changes of organization to be made before 
skilled supervision can be introduced into those 
portions of the country where the political unit is 
the county. 

Some helpful experiments have been made in a 
few counties of the south in attempts to overcome 
the difficulties in the way of securing skilled super- 
vision. One of the most hopeful of these experi- 
ments was tried several years ago in the county of 
Richmond, Georgia, and the plan there followed 
has been adopted in several places. A summary of 
this plan as given by Superintendent Lawton B. 
Evans in the Educational Review"^ is as follows : 

''One board of education, composed of representa- 
tives elected by the people for a term of three years, 
one-third of the membership expiring every year, 
has charge of the entire school interests of the city 
of Augusta and of the county of Richmond. This 
board of education has the unique power of levying 
a school tax directly upon the people of the county, 
without revision by any other authority and without 
any limit as to rate or amount. The school tax is 
levied and collected as a uniform rate upon all 
property of the county, whether it is in the city or 
out of it. This forms the general school fund of 
the county, supplemented by the state appropriation. 

"When it comes to the distribution of this fund no 
regard is paid to the amount raised by any ward of 
the city or any district of the county, but the fund is 
distributed according to the necessities of each ward 
and district, determined by the number of children 

*Volume ii, page 371-373. 



Supervision of Rural Schools 267 

to be educated. The school fund of the whole 
county is raised by a tax on all the property of the 
county and is distributed upon the basis of the school 
population of each community. Thus it happens 
that a community rich in naught else but children 
will get a flourishing school paid for by its wealthier 
but less fortunate neighbors. 

*'As a matter of fact, a large part of the money Rural schools 
paid by the city is annually spent in the rural given a fair 
districts, for the city has nine-tenths of the taxable ^^^^'^ of 
property, but only three-fourths of the school popula- °^^^^y- 
tion. So it happens that the rural schools pay one- 
tenth of the school tax and receive the benefit of 
one-fourth of it. Augusta has spent in the past 
twenty years the sum of $200,000 in building school- 
houses and paying school teachers for the children 
who live in the country districts around her. 
Augusta has shown her faith in the proposition that 
every city needs to be environed by an intelligent, 
industrious, and contented population. 

''When it comes to the teachers the same qualifica- The same 
tions are demanded for rural schools as for city standard of 
schools. Upon the regular examination terms, and qualifications 

upon issuing of licenses to teach, an applicant does ^ ^ ^.^^ . 
^ ° . . . rural schools. 

not know whether he will teach in the city or out 
of it, and to many it is a matter of indifference. 
And I know whereof I speak when I say that there 
are young women graduates of normal colleges doing 
high-grade work in country schools ten miles beyond 
the limits of the city, and doing it happily and 
cheerfully. We believe firmly in the further prop- 
osition that a country school is entitled to as good 
a teacher as a city school, and that those who live 
in the fields are as deserving of education as those 
who dwell beside the asphalt. Carlyle must have 



268 



Appendix B 



Salaries of 
rural and city 
teachers to be 
the same. 



A nine months 
school year for 
all schools. 



School houses. 



Supervision 
alike for rural 
and city 
schools. 



had a country child in his mind when he said : ' This 
I consider a great tragedy : that one soul should 
remain in ignorance that had capacity for higher 
things. ' 

''The teachers are treated as nearly alike as can 
be. City and country teachers are paid about the 
same salary. They get it at the end of every month 
and on the same day. The certainty and the regu- 
larity of a fixed compensation create a sense of 
security, safety, and comfort for a teacher, and 
accordingly increase his efficiency. No teacher can 
do his best work when he works at starvation rates^ 
is paid once every three or four months, and often in 
script that he must discount. There is much phil- 
osophy and also economy in the maxim that advises 
us to pay a public servant well and watch him 
closely. So we draw no distinction of locality. 
First-class work is worth as much twenty miles from 
town as it is in the heart of the city. 

''The schools of the county all run nine calendar 
months. They all begin at the same time and close 
at the same time. During the last year every child 
of the county, regardless of where he lived, was 
offered nine months of actual tuition. 

"So far as schoolhouses are concerned, these are 
located in rural districts so as to be on an average 
of four miles apart. No child is out of walking dis- 
tance of a school open nine months in the year and 
taught by a good teacher. These houses are owned 
by the board of education and cost from $300 to 
$2,500 each, according to size and equipment. 

"One superintendent has charge of all the teachers 
in the county. The same degree of efficiency that 
should attend the supervision of city schools is like- 
wise extended to the country schools. An expert 



Supervision of Rural Schools 269 

teacher for all is the theory, and, so far as human 
effort can avail, it is carried out in practice. The 
same course of study is prescribed for the pupils, 
and the same course of professional reading is re- 
quired of the teachers. The teachers of the city 
schools meet for instruction once a week, the teachers 
of the country schools meet once a month, and in 
addition have a two-months' institute in the summer 
months. ' ' 

In parts of the country where the town or town- Plan of super- 
ship is the unit of government a different plan will vision when 

have to be pursued. Here the unit of school ad- ^^ ^^^ ^ . 

, , . government is 

ministration must be smaller than the county but ^|^g ^^^^ ^j. 

the ends desired may be accomplished by combining townsliip. 
several towns for purposes of supervision, the ad- 
ministration of the schools in all other respects 
remaining as they are. This has been done effectu- 
ally in some of the New England states. 

The plan is found in greatest efficiency in Massa- The union 
chusetts where it originated in 1888. By this law district plan of 
as amended at various times the school committees Massachusetts 
of two or more towns, each having a valuation of less 
than 2% millions, must form a union for the purpose 
of employing a superintendent of schools. The 
union district must consist of two or more towns 
having in the aggregate not more than 50 schools 
and not less than 25. If the union district consists 
of more than three towns the minimum limit of 25 
schools need not be adhered to. 

The union thus formed cannot be dissolved for Condition of 
three years after the date of its formation except °^^"^taimng a 
by a vote of the majority of the towns constituting ^^^, gupeivi- 
the union; nor can it be dissolved for the reason sion, 
that the valuation of any one of the towns shall have 
so increased as to exceed 2^2 millions, nor for the 



270 



Appendix B 



The school 
committees in 
joint conven- 
tion to choose 
the superin- 
tendent. 



Payment of 
superinten- 
dent's salary 
by state and 
towns. 



The state 
board author- 
ized to form 
and readjust 
districts. 



reason that the number of schools shall have in- 
creased beyond 50, or in a union of less than four 
towns, shall have decreased below 25. 

The school committees of the towns forming a 
union must meet in a joint convention to choose a 
superintendent of schools, determine the relative 
amount of service to be performed by him in each 
town, fix his salary, apportion the amount thereof to 
be paid by the several towns and certify it to each 
town treasurer. 

For all other purposes the school committee are 
the agents of each town of the union district, that is^ 
the school committee of any given town determine 
the duties of the superintendent for that town. 

At the close of each year when the fact is certified 
to that the towns constituting a union, in addition 
to an amount equal to the average amount paid for 
schools during the preceding three years, have raised 
by taxation not less than $750 for the support 
of a superintendent of schools and that a superin- 
tendent has been employed for one year, the towns 
receive from the state $1,250, three-fifths of which 
is paid for the salary of the superintendent and the 
other two-fifths to the towns for the salaries of 
teachers. 

The law also provides that smaller towns may 
unite with a city or large town to form a union, but 
in that case the smaller towns only receive money 
from the state on account of being in a union. 

The State Board of Education is authorized to 
form and readjust unions of towns whenever in its 
judgment it becomes imperatively necessary to 
include a town which is otherwise unable to comply 
with the law. 

Thus it is that over two hundred towns of the 



skilled super- 
vision. 



Supervision of Bur a I Schools 271 

Commonwealth are under skilled supervision in Over 200 

union districts, while every other town is obliged to wns^ under 

either alone or in conjunction with one or more 

towTis to employ a superintendent. As the minimum 

salary of the union superintendent is $1,500 and as 

the position is a favorable one for promotion, good 

service as a rule is secured, and through its means 

the schools of the towns of low valuation have been 

greatly improved. This will be even more manifest 

when the towns get the increased aid promised them 

from the state. 



Consolidation of Rural Schools 



Conveyance of 
pupils author- 
ized by law in 
Massachusetts. 



Extent and 
growth of 
school consoli- 
dation. 



APPENDIX C. 

In 1869 the legislature of Massachusetts passed a 
law authorizing towns to raise and appropriate 
money for the conveyance of pupils to and from the 
public schools. At the same session in which this 
law was passed, it was voted for a second time to 
abolish the district system. There may be no con- 
nection between these two events, but behind them 
both was a spirit of unrest. The people of the 
country towns had at last come to realize that a too 
close adherence to the principle of local self-govern- 
ment in education was working an injury to the 
smaller towns, and that the remedy lay in adopting 
a policy by which the town at large would share the 
obligations and privileges of school control. The 
rapid depopulation of country towns and the in- 
creasing inability of these towns to support their 
schools, helped to encourage the movement of con- 
solidating the schools, and thereby of making the 
rural schools to share in some degree the privileges 
of a graded system. 

There is no record available to show how much 
the rural schools were immediately affected by the 
passage of the transportation law just referred to. 
We only know that within twenty years after the law 
was passed, upwards of two hundred towns had to 

* A paper read before the Department of School Adminis- 
tration of the National Educational Association in Boston, 
July 8, 1903. 

(272) 



Consolidation of Rural Schools 273 

a greater or less degree availed themselves of the 
provisions of the law and were spending in the 
aggregate more than $20,000 annually for the con- . 
veyance of pupils. From that time to the present 
the idea of consolidating the schools has been con- 
stantly kept in mind by the people, as shown by the 
increased amount appropriated each year for the 
transportation of pupils. The total expenditure 
for this purpose in 1901 was $165,596, which ex- 
ceeded the expenditure of the previous year by 
$13,823, showing that the conveyance of pupils to 
and from school at public expense is still going on. 
The extent of the practice is shown by the fact that 
only 59 of the 353 towns and cities of the Common- 
wealth reported no expenditures for the conveyance 
of pupils last year, and that a good proportion of 
these 59 towns neither have rural schools nor are 
likely to have them. It should be said that not all 
the money reported as appropriated for the con- 
veyance of pupils, was expended for carrying pupils 
from closed schools ; but the sum expended for any 
other purpose is comparatively small and therefore 
the amounts given are an approximate measure of 
the extent to which the schools have been brought 
together. 

No statistics have been gathered as to the exact Ten per cent, 
number of rural schools which have been consoli- of rural schools 
dated thus far, but a careful estimate indicates that ^^^^^ ^^^^ " 
at least 10% of the so-called ungraded schools have 
been discontinued and that the pupils of the dis- 
continued schools are being carried at public expense 
either to central graded schools or to other un- 
graded schools. 

There is yet another way of ascertaining the 
strength of the present movement in the consolida- 



274 



Appendix C 



Growth of sen- 



tion of rural schools, and that is through the testi- 
mony of persons who have tried the plan or who 
have seen the effects of a fair trial of it. In a special 
inquiry made a few years ago by an agent of the 
Massachusetts State Board of Education, the fact 
was brought out that in a large majority of the 
places where the experiment of consolidation had 
been tried there was a pronounced sentiment in favor 
of its continuance. Several reasons were given for 
timent in favor this opinion, among which were increase in the 
of school con- regularity and punctuality of pupils, an improved 
character of school buildings and equipment, en- 
hanced interest on the part of pupils and a reduction 
in the cost of school maintenance. The inquiry 
brought out another fact, although it was an inci- 
dental one, and that was the evident need of mak- 
ing the educational conditions in the State at large 
more nearly equal, a need which has been recently 
met in part at least by a substantial increase of the 
State grant to the more needy towns of the Common- 
wealth. 

In view of all these facts, it is fair to conclude 
that in Massachusetts at least the plan of the con- 
solidation of rural schools is no longer an experi- 
ment, but is recognized in most of the towns of the 
Commonwealth as a helpful means of raising the 
standard of education in rural communities. 

What is true of Massachusetts is doubtless true 
of several of the twenty states which are reported 
as having adopted in one form or another the plan 
of consolidation. In Iowa the plan which has been 
in operation for some time is favored by 95% of the 
County Superintendents and by the State Superin- 
tendent. In Connecticut the law permitting the 
closing of schools and transportation of pupils as 



Plans of con- 
solidation 
adopted in 
various states. 



Consolidation of Rural Schools 275 

reported by the State Superintendent ''has been 
immensely advantageous to the State." In Ohio 
the State Commissioner is loud in his commendation 
of the plan which has been in operation several 
years. In Vermont over 700 schools were closed in 
a single year and the amount expended for the con- 
veyance of pupils more than doubled in six years. 
In New Hampshire the advantages enumerated in 
favor of discontinuing small schools and conveying 
the pupils are (1) economy; (2) better teachers and 
equipment; (3) better supervision; (4) regularity 
of pupils' attendance, and (5) a better educational 
spirit. 

Commissioner Harris in his last report, in speaking Views of Com- 
of the consolidation of rural schools, says: ''Upon missioner 
the success of this movement rests the chief hope for H^^^is. 
the improvement of the rural school. It is fortu- 
nate that a device which changes the ungraded 
school into a graded school involves a saving of ex- 
pense. The improvement is well worth trial, even 
were it to double the cost of the rural school, but 
as will be seen by statistics it is secured with an 
actual saving of expenditure. Better teachers, more 
sanitary buildings, less personal exposure on the 
part of pupils, better classification, and many lesser 
advantages are commending this reform over the 
country. ' ' 

Added to the advantages enumerated above Consideration 

may be mentioned the improved facilities for breadth ^^ social 

culture 
and fineness of social culture. Life in many rural 

communities is circumscribed by unavoidable limita- 
tions which may in part be overcome by extending 
the associations of the children and so enriching 
their lives. The dangers, of course, of a too great 
extension of associations must be recognized, but it 



27(> 



Appendix C 



Various feat- 
ures of con- 
solidation. 



Why extended 
legislation is 
not desirable. 



is assumed that in any plan of union, the conditions 
of contact will be carefully guarded in the interests 
of all. Experience has shown, however, that the 
dangers of certain kinds of contamination are far 
greater in small country schools than in larger 
graded schools, where there is protection in numbers. 

Being assured of the possibilities for good in the 
consolidation of rural schools, we have next to 
inquire how best it may be accomplished. Shall 
the local school board as in Massachusetts, Ohio and 
New Jersey, be given full authority to consolidate 
the schools and to transport the pupils, or shall it 
be subject to certain legal restrictions, such for 
example as exist in Indiana, where the trustees of 
a school district may act only upon petition of a 
majority of the voters, or as in New Hampshire 
where only a certain percentage of the school money 
may be expended for the conveyance of pupils, or 
as in Rhode Island where schools only may be closed 
that have an average membership of less than twelve, 
or as in Iowa where the boards are limited in their 
appropriation for transportation to five dollars for 
each person of school age ? Shall the law governing 
the transportation of pupils designate the minimum 
distance at which pupils may be carried to 
school as in Vermont and Kansas? Or shall the 
township or district be allowed, as in some states, to 
offer a mileage to pupils living at a distance from 
the school as an alternative to free transportation. 

However meritorious some of these features of 
consolidation may be in themselves considered, it is 
a matter of grave doubt whether they should be 
made subjects of legislation even upon the basis of 
suggestion or permission. The conditions of a single 
state, even of the smallest state, are so varied that 



Consolidation of Rural Schools 277 

no general policy or line of action can be defined by 
law, without doing a possible injury in special 
localities. Take for example the designation by law 
of the minimum distance at which pupils may be 
conveyed to school. Everyone knows that what is 
a proper distance for pupils to walk to school under 
some conditions is quite too great under others. The 
circumstances of companionship, of the character 
of the roadway and of the age and sex of the pupils 
all help to determine what the maximum walking 
d^i^tance for the pupils should be. The designation 
of two miles as a minimum distance for free trans- 
portation of pupils, as in Kansas, would work a 
severe hardship in the case of young girls who 
might be obliged under the law to walk a mile or a 
mile and a half over a lonely road, while on the other 
hand the offer of free rides for all pupils living over 
three-fourths of a mile from the school, as in Ohio 
and Pennsylvania, might have in certain districts 
a somewhat demoralizing influence upon healthy 
boys of twelve or fifteen years of age. 

Again the designation of a minimum sum, as in The designa- 
lowa, for the transportation of each pupil, must work tion of a fixed 

an injury in certain cases, quite as much when the ^^°^ ^} ^^^" 

, . , . . n T portation not 

sum named is too great as when it is too small. In (jegirable. 

the one case there would be the temptation to ex- 
travagance and excess ; in the other, there might be 
discomfort and neglect. 

The danger is especially manifest when school 
boards find it necessary to strike a bargain with the 
carriers. The smallness of the amount, which the 
driver or proprietor of a school carriage is some- 
times forced to accept, is an indication of the pos- 
sible meagreness of service rendered in the form of 
unfit carriages and poor oversight. Such bargain- 



278 



Appendix C 



Decision in 
New York. 



Few specifica- 
tions in the 
law should be 
made. 



Shall consolida- 
tion be univer- 
sal and obliga- 
tory? 



ing- and results are a reminder of the old time prac- 
tice of auctioning off the teacher's board to the 
lowest bidder. 

But perhaps the saddest results of sharp bargain- 
ing come from the practice followed in some places 
of paying a small sum for each pupil or family 
living at a distance from the school, with the under- 
standing that the father may or may not perform 
the service of transportation for which he is paid. 
In too many cases it is feared the children are 
forced by the parsimony of the father to endii||[^ 
much hardship and perhaps loss of school privi- 
leges—a result of small moment compared to the 
pauperizing influence of the transaction upon all 
concerned. 

These are some of the conditions of the consolida- 
tion of schools which the state may Avell avoid, at 
least by any specification of statute requirement. 
There may be others equally objectionable. The 
point that I would urge is that few specifications of 
organization should be made in the law providing 
for the consolidation beyond the giving of large and 
responsible duties to local boards. 

Among the first questions to decide in considering 
a possible scheme of legislation in relation to the 
consolidation of schools is whether it is best to make 
the plan universal and obligatory. "While it must 
be admitted that great good has been accomplished 
in the past by the closing of small schools and the 
transportation of the pupils to other schools, and 
while the testimony seems to favor an extension of 
such a plan, it may well be questioned whether it 
is desirable for all the rural schools, even for all the 
small rural schools, to be consolidated. 

In this age of reform we must not insist upon 



Consolidation of Rural Schools 279 

making the number of schools fewer only for the 
purpose of making the number of pupils in each 
school larger or of decreasing the expense of school 
maintenance. The truth is, our schools will be more Danger of 
rather than less expensive in the future and they making the 
will also be smaller rather than larger. While we schools too 
are urging that our graded schools of forty and ^° * 
fifty pupils must be reduced to twenty and thirty 
that better individual work may be done, we can 
hardly agree with some superintendents in the 
assumption that the country ungraded schools of 
fifteen and twenty, or even ten pupils, are too small, 
or that on account of their size alone they should be 
closed. And when we get over the notion that a 
plan is good because it is cheap, we shall not make 
so much of the argument of economy. The only 
or chief determining factor of any plan of organiza- 
tion is efficiency. Judged by that standard a school Efficiency the 
of twelve or fifteen pupils who are under twelve determining 
years of age and who live within a mile of the school, *^^^^^- 
may possibly do better service for the children than 
could be done under some conditions of consolida- 
tion. 

In such a comparison of conditions, it must be 
understood that the teachers in both classes of 
sc^^ools are equally good. One weak point in our 
comparison of ungraded and graded schools has 
been that we have had in mind a teacher for one 
class of schools who is dear at six dollars a week. Teachers of 

and a teacher for the other class who is cheap at S^'^^1^^ ^^^ ^" 
, T T mi i i ^ J • graded schools 

SIX hundred a year. The test oi our argument m j , , , 

favor of transportation will appear when we think equally good. 

of the six-dollar teacher in the central school, or 

better when we think of the six-hundred-dollar 

teacher in the small isolated one. 



280 



Appendix C 



No general 
rule or law 
any state. 



Large dis- 
cretionary 
powers for 
local boards 



Be it remembered, I am not now arguing- in favor 
of the ungraded over the graded school, much less 
am I urging the wisdom of keeping the rural 
schools as they are. I am trying only to show that 
the principle of consolidation should not be applied 
to all ungraded schools and that therefore no general 
law should be passed by any state enforcing its 
adoption. The most that I would urge is the pas- 
for sage of a law permitting schools to be closed and 
the pupils conveyed at public expense whenever, in 
the estimation of the township or county board, it 
is desirable to do so. I would put few restrictions 
upon the action of this board, believing that an 
elective body to which is given large powers will 
act wisely in the interests of the people. 

In the law authorizing boards to carry pupils to 
and from school, the provision may be made that all 
precautions shall be taken to protect the pupils from 
harm or injury of any kind. It might be well also 
to give all persons who have a grievance of any 
kind the right of appeal to the State Board of 
Education. In placing so much power and latitude 
of action in the hands of the township or county 
boards, the assumption is that there are no small 
district boards, or if there are such boards that they 
will be abolished. If the state is not yet ready to 
abolish the district system and must for a time en- 
dure its blighting effects, the better course perhaps 
is for each district or district board to arrange for 
the transportation of the pupils in case the school 
is closed, each board to retain its organization. 

With few requirements and restrictions beyond 
what I have named, and with ample means at its 
command, the local scliool board will have the oppor- 
tunity of generously meeting the educational needs 



Consolidation of Rural Schools 281 

and wants of the more sparsely settled sections. It 
will recognize the limited social and educational 
opportunities of the children of these sections and 
and will do all in its power to overcome those limi- 
tations by providing the best service and the most 
ample accommodations possible. 

Whenever it is seen to be best for the social and Ways and 
educational well-being of the children of a neigh- means of the 
borhood to close a school, the safest and most con- conveyance of 
venient arrangements for the conveyance of the 
pupils should be made. As far as possible the plan 
should be followed of taking the children from their 
homes to the central school. The vehicle provided 
for the conveyance of the children should be safe 
and comfortable and the driver should be carefully 
selected. So important is the matter of a proper 
care and oversight of the children in transit, that the 
entire project of consolidation and conveyance 
ought to depend upon whether a suitable person 
may be found for the service. Provision should 
be made for caring for the pupils during the ijoon 
intermission, a precaution by the way which should 
be taken in any school where the pupils remain at 
noon. 

In some neighborhoods and towns it may seem 
wise to apply the principle of consolidation only 
to the older pupils, the younger pupils being left 
in small ungraded schools. In such cases the pos- 
sible increase of expense attending the transporta- 
tion of pupils should not stand in the way of effi- 
ciently meeting the needs of the pupils. 

What has been said thus far applies especially to Consolidation 
the elementary schools. The practice of consolida- of small high 
tion may be quite wisely followed in high schools, schools. 
Whenever circumstances seem to make it desirable 



282 Appendix C 

or feasible to close the small high schools of two or 
more towns, and to provide for the transportation 
of pupils to a strong central school, it should be 
done. This may be done by placing the manage- 
ment of the central school in the hands of one or 
more representatives of each local board, each board 
to provide for the transportation of its own pupils. 

It is hoped that the following points have been 
made clear: 

1. That the advantages attending the consolida- 
tion of rural schools have been shown by experience 
to be so great that the plan should be extended to 
all communities where it can be conveniently carried 
out. 
Summary of 2. That the consolidation of schools should not 

conclusions. \)q uniform or compulsory throughout all sections 
of a state, but depend upon local needs and condi- 
tions. 

3. That in the law providing for the consolida- 
tion of rural schools few specifications of organiza- 
tion should be made, beyond the giving of large 
and responsible duties to local boards, 

4. That in any plan of consolidation, especial 
attention should be given to arrangements which 
will insure the greatest degree of convenience, 
safety and freedom from contamination. 



School Revenues and their 
Distribntion 



APPENDIX D 

Nearly all of the states have permanent funds 
from which an income is derived for the partial 
support of the schools. This sum varies greatly, 
being less than 2% of the total amount expended 
in Massachusetts and nearly 30% in Texas. 

The balance of the sum expended is raised mostly Differences of 
by taxation, either state or local. Here again there financial condi- 

are great differences. In some of the states nearly *^^^^ ^^ 

^1 , , ^ T 1 r> 11- -1 various states. 

the whole amount expended tor schools is raised 

by state tax, while in others upwards of 90% is 

raised by local tax. A comparison of statistics 

shows that the increase in the income from local 

taxes in the United States is relatively far greater 

than the increase in the income from a state tax. 

For the 21 years ending 1900-1901 the increase in 

state revenues for the support of schools was about 

46%, while the local taxes for the same purpose had 

increased about 65%. 

It is of course impossible to establish a uniform Report of the 

and equitable ratio of the state tax to the local tax, committee of 

yet it is safe to say that in some states that ratio is ^^^^^f ^P^^ 

scnool reven^ 
far too great while in others it is too small. The ^^g ^^^ ^^^^^ 

following extracts from the Report of the Committee distribution. 

of Twelve appointed by the National Educational 

Association bear upon this and other points of in- 

(283) 



284 



Appendix D 



Units of taxa- 
tion. 



State aid 
necessary , 



terest connected with school revenues and their dis- 
tribution. 

Revenue 

Manifestly such areas or units of taxation should 
be created, or continued if already in existence, as 
will fully develop the sound American principle, that 
the whole wealth of the state shall he made available 
for educating all the youth of the state. This is 
both right and necessary, for it must be remembered 
that, in the United States, education is a civil, or 
state, function, to be supported like other similar 
functions. What shall these units of taxation be? 
The subcommittee names those following as coming 
under the principle just stated : 

1. The State. — A liberal provision of funds from 
the state treasury, to be distributed according to 
some rational method, is indispensable, as a rule, 
to the maintenance of a good system of state schools. 
Formerly the burden was mainly or wholly thrown 
upon the local units. The old Massachusetts plan 
was to throw upon the tow^ns the whole burden of 
maintaining their ow^n schools. But the greatly 
increased cost of schools, growing out of enhanced 
salaries, longer terms, and improved material equip- 
ment, long ago demonstrated that this plan must 
be materially modified. Many local taxing units are 
too poor to carry such a load, and they must either 
abandon all hope of good schools or they must 
receive assistance from the state or social whole. 



-V- M. M^ M, ^ ^ A^ ^ 

TP TT TT ^ TT TP TT TV* 






2. In all states, where, for other local purposes, 
the county is the sole unit of taxation, a liberal 
county tax should be levied for the schools. This 
proposition applies especially to those states where 
the county system of local government prevails. 



School Revenues and their Distribution 285 

In states where, for such purposes, the county is a a county- 
large unit of taxation, it may be wise to levy a school tax 
county school tax ; that circumstances must deter- advisable for 
mine. This remark applies to the states having ^ ^^' 

the mixed system of local government. Under the 
town system county taxation for schools would be 
out of harmony with the social and political tradi- 
tions of the people, and could be accomplished only 
through a change of habit ; perhaps this end is 
attainable. For the year 1894-95 the Commissioner 
of Education shows that 67% of the total school 
revenues of the country came from local taxes. The 
scale ran from 1.7 per cent, in North Carolina to 
98 ^ % in Massachusetts. Unfortunately we have no 
statistics showing from what sources the local taxes 
come ; how much from districts, towns, and counties 
respectively. The point must, however, be strongly 
pressed that local supply for public education should 
be forthcoming as well as state supply. It is a 
great mistake to teach the people to look altogether, 
or mainly, to the state treasury for school mainte- 
nance. They should rather be taught to depend in 
due measure upon themselves. It is the confident 
opinion of the subcommittee that some states are 
now committing this mistake. Many states having 
the county system of local government have in the 
counties a resource for school maintenance upon 
which they have never adequately drawn. 

3. In those states where the town or township Thedesir- 
is a- large taxing unit for other local purposes, it ability of local 

should also be made to contribute liberally to public ^^f^^\^^ ^^^ 

™, . ,. . . schools, 

education. This recommendation it would be idle 

to urge in most of the southern and in some of the 

western states, because the civil town or township 

does not exist, and it would be vain to urge its 



286 



Appendix D 



creation for school purposes exclusively. But in 
those states where the town and mixed systems of 
local government exist, a township school tax would 
be congruous with the general social and political 
habits of the people. The desirability of local taxa- 
tion for school purposes was urged under the last 
head. Such taxation develops self-reliance and 
local character, and tends to awaken and keep alive 
the interest of the people in the schools. The town 
was the sole school-taxing unit in old New England, 
and it is still a prominent, sometimes almost an ex- 
clusive, one throughout the northern states. The 
local school taxes of New England are town and 
district taxes, and, taken together, they range from 
the minimum of 69.2 per cent, of the whole in Maine 
to 98.2 in Massachusetts. It can hardly be doubted 
that the New England states, as well as some others, 
now throw the burden too heavily upon the towns 
and districts, and that they will find it advantageous 
considerably to raise the ratio which state taxation 
bears to local taxation. The other New England 
states will probably follow, sooner or later, the ex- 
ample of Maine, which raises nearly one-third of her 
school money by state taxation. In some states, no 
doubt, the townships should carry a heavier weight 
than at present, at least as compared with districts ; 
at all events, the township should bear a reasonable 
part of the cost of its own education. 



Help to be 
given to those 
communities 
which help 
themselves. 



Distribution 
1. The assistance that the large political and 
social units render to the small ones, as the state to 
counties, townships, and districts; or the county 
to townships and districts; or the township to dis- 
tricts, should be made contingent, in part at least, 



School Revenues and their Distribution 287 

upon what the small units do for themselves. No 
community, it is believed, is so poor that it cannot 
do something towards educating its youth. Again, 
a state educational system should be so organized 
and administered as to stimulate, and not repress, 
local spirit and effort. It is a great mistake to re- 
move the burdens of public education so far from 
the people that they forget, or tend to forget, their 
existence. The principle here involved is a vital 
one. History shows conclusively that popular edu- 
cation has flourished most in those states of our 
Union where government is most democratic. 

It is difficult, or rather impossible, to lay down a No general 
general rule that shall govern the division of taxa- rule for the 
tion between the state and the local communities, ^^'^isbn of 
Two things are to be considered. One is the 
political institutions that exist in the state. If 
government is largely centralized at state capitals 
and county seats — that is one thing; if it is largely 
decentralized, as where the principle of local self- 
government is fully developed— f/m^ is quite another. 
For example, it would be idle to expect that the same 
results would obtain in the southern states that are 
found in New England, or even in that great group 
of states where the mixed system of local govern- 
ment prevails. The governmental machinery and 
the traditions of the people will assert themselves 
in such matters. The other factors to be considered 
are socia,!, and particularly economical conditions. 

TT w "^ It 'tt 'Tt •Tr ^R* ^^ ^ff 

2. Funds raised by the large taxing units should The rich and 
be distributed in such a manner as to bring the sup- strong to help 
port of the rich and strong to the poor and weak, ^he poor and 
The only reason for taxing these units at all for ^^ ' 
general purposes is to secure this end. On no other 



288 



Appendix D 



principle can a state school tax, or even a county or 
township tax, be defended, unless indeed the county 
or township is a single district. The practical ques- 
tion is, How shall such funds be distributed so as 
not to defeat the end in view? 



Objection to 
distribution 
according to 
school census. 



Distribution 
according to 
enrollment not 
advisable. 



A fixed sum 
based upon an 
arbitrary unit 
or units the 
most equitable. 



(1) Distribution according to the school census 
or enumeration is open to a serious objection, viz.^ 
it does not carry the money where it is most needed. 
For example, two districts lie side by side, one 
having twenty and the other forty youths of school 
age ; the second district draws twice as much money 
as the other, but the cost of keeping up the two 
schools is practically the same. The same would 
be true of two township units, unless the schools 
were consolidated. The result is that the district 
or township that needs the most help receives the 
least. The rule is simple and easily w^orked, but 
it tends partially to defeat the end of state or county 
aid. 

(2) The same objection holds against rules based 
on the school enrollment or on attendance, only with 
somewhat diminished force. Again, if the enroll- 
ment is follow^ed, or attendance for a brief time, 
there is danger that some children will go to school 
long enough to be counted, and then drop out. 
Besides, such rules of distribution work in favor of 
the graded schools and against the rural schools, 
on account of their larger enrollment and more regu- 
lar attendance. 

(3) Taking everything into account, the subcom- 
mittee is inclined to think that a fixed sum or sums, 
based on an arbitrary unit or units, is most equitable. 
Examples of such rules are furnished by the states 
of Massachusetts, Ehode Island, New York, New 



School Revenues and their Distribution 289 

Jersey, and California. The most serious objection 
to such rules is that they are necessarily compli- 
cated; some of those given above are quite com- 
plicated. Then, if the fixed sum is so much a 
teacher, as in New York, or so much a district, as in 
Rhode Island and New Jersey, there is a temptation 
to the undue multiplication of schools or teachers. 
But this point can be safeguarded by fixing statu- 
tory limitations, as in California. No rule can be 
devised that will not be open to objection. The 
subcommittee does not believe it possible to invent 
any rule of distribution that will well accomplish 
the purpose of taxing large units for the benefit of 
small ones, unless it rests on the school or the teacher 
as a unit, with the necessary qualifications. The 
Massachusetts rule is open to the objection that the Various objec- 
school needs of towns cannot always be measured by tions con- 
low valuations of property assessed for taxation, as 
the number of pupils to be educated is also a factor. 
If the method of distribution now recommended is 
objected to as an exclusive one, then it may be sup- 
plemented by basing a part of the appropriation on 
the school census, enrollment, or attendance. The 
resort to the United States census is most objection- 
able, as great changes of population occur in the 
course of ten years. 



siderecl. 



Special Schools and Classes 



APPENDIX E. 

If, as is generally done, the state assumes the 
duty of caring for extreme cases of the defective 
classes such as the blind, deaf, and feeble-minded 
there will be left a large number of defectives of a 
milder form whose education ought to be carried on 
by the community in which the defectives live.* 

Special Schools for the Mentally "Weak 

Within the past twenty years much attention has 

been given in this country and abroad to the care of 

children who are mentally weak but not idiotic. 

The formation of special classes for this class of 

children is made not only for the benefit of the 

weak-minded or mentally slow pupils but for the 

relief of the ordinary schools. In Prussia there 

were in 1896, 27 cities maintaining 38 schools for 

Schools for the ^"j^jg class of children. Such schools are an integral 

. -p, . , part of the public school svstem and are reported 
in Prussia and j" j" - j^ 

various Ameri- ^^ the public school statistics of attendance, 
can cities. In the United States several cities, including 

Providence, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, 
have made a good beginning in the maintenance of 
schools for this class of children. The following 
extracts from reports give some interesting facts : 

[Pi^ovidencef R. I. Extract from a report of 

Mrs. Rhoda L. Esten, Supervisor of Special Schools.] 

The first school for backward children in Prov- 

* For a treatment of the subject of ''Schools for Defectives 

and Delinquents'' see Chapter xi, page 22G. 

(290) 



Special Schools and Classes 291 

idence, R. I., was opened December, 1896 ; a second, Report of 
December, 1897, and a third December, 1898. From schools for 

the organization of these schools to June 29* 1900, backward 

. 1 • p T n J. children in 

was a period varying irom nearly lour years to a p . , 

year and five months. During this period 82 differ- r j 
ent pupils have been enrolled, and of this number 13 
have been transferred to other schools, 16 have left 
to work, being beyond school age, 3 have moved out 
of the city, 2 left, cause unknown, 1 left, unim- 
provable, 1 has died, 1 has gone to a parochial school, 
and 45 remain under special instruction. 

The principles and methods obtaining in these 
schools have been as follows : As physical develop- 
ment must precede mental with these children, daily 
exercises have been given tending to train their 
muscular systems to a regular and ready response 
to commands given by the teacher, the object of 
this drill being to strengthen the muscles and im- 
prove their co-ordination. Other exercises have 
been given that required judgment and choice on the 
part of the pupils, simple at first but gradually in- 
creasing in difficulty as the pupils were able to re- 
ceive them. Care has been taken to find out their 
likes and dislikes and so to arrange the work that 
each subject presented should, as much as possible, 
bear on something in which they were interested, 
thus encouraging expression on their part. Simple 
stories relating to dear and familiar objects, or 
events in real life, illustrated, if possible, by the 
teacher, have been told them, at first following them 
simply to listen ; afterwards talks were given upon 
these stories, and by skillful questioning the pupils 
were led to see the beautiful pictures or thoughts 
contained in the story, or the good or evil as the case 



292 Appendix E 

might be, and to give expression to their wishes and 
desires. 

The*above training carried on patiently and per- 
sistently has been followed, except in a few cases, by 
a perceptible growth in their physical and mental 
powers. In connection with the above has been 
given the instruction of the school, consisting of a 
modified course of kindergarten and primary w^ork. 
Care has been taken to present each step or principle 
in a clear, simple and interesting way, appealing to 
as many senses as possible, also to avoid taking the 
second step until the first has been firmly fixed in the 
minds of the pupils. 

These pupils advance very slowly and can bridge 
no gaps in instruction, hence patient, persistent and 
sympathetic teachers are necessary. It has been 
encouraging and gratifying to note that, with five 
exceptions (one a case of paralysis, one of epilepsy, 
two too old to be improvable, and one too low grade), 
all have made some improvement, and, in many cases, 
improvement in a marked degree. Five have been 
returned to the regular schools and are now doing 
regular work ; seven, able to do the grade work, have 
been transferred to the schools for special discipline 
and instruction, as, on account of some peculiarity 
of disposition, they could be better cared for in these 
schools than in the regular schools ; sixteen are earn- 
ing their living, wholly or in part, being over fifteen 
years of age. Some have shown special aptitudes, 
which, owing to a lack of proper accommodation and 
facilities in these schools, we have been unable to 
cultivate as a means of support. 

The discipline of these schools has been of a pa- 
rental character. The more capable of the pupils 



Special Schools and Classes 293 

have been helpful in caring for the less, and a har- 
monious spirit has prevailed. 

Although much has been done for these children, 
yet, with better schoolroom accommodations, with 
better facilities for physical and manual training, 
and with teachers experienced in this work, better 
and more far-reaching results could be obtained. 

Educational Centres 

In various cities there has been an extended use of 
the school buildings in so called ''Educational 
Centres." These are really a kind of evening school, 
differing from that school only in the fact that its 
exercises are of a practical nature. The character of 
these "centres" may be judged from the following 
extract from a report made by the Committee on 
extended use of school buildings in Boston when five 
centres were in operation during the winter of 1903- 
1904. The report refers to the first term of one of 
the centres : 

' ' The Centre began with a registration of 810. Report of ed- 
Prom the first night until the school closed the regis- ucational 
tration was constantly gaining, until at the end of centres in 
the twelve weeks' term it had reached 4,384. 

"The week v/as divided into two parts, one set 
of people coming Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the 
other Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In this 
way the opening registration of 810 gave a maximum 
possible attendance of 405 each night, except per- 
haps for a few who came every evening for the sake 
of taking two courses. 

"Within a few weeks after opening, the building 
was filled to the limit of its capacity, there being 
present a thousand members each evening, this, 
under the dual system of classes, meaning that two 



294 Appendix E 

thousand people of the neighborhood were attending 
the Centre every week. 

''The Centre began with a single class in dress- 
making, but the facilities had to be increased im- 
mediately, and toward the close four separate dress- 
making classes were maintained, the rooms being 
crowded every evening. In fact, it has not been 
an unusual thing to go into one of the dressmaking 
rooms and find the seating capacity of fifty-six ex- 
hausted, so that some of the members of the class 
were standing. 

''In like manner, it was necessary to increase the 
instruction in millinery until at the end there were 
four classes. 

"The same increase was noted in the class in em- 
broidery. 

"In cookery, the number given instruction was 
only limited by the capacity of the school kitchen. 
One night a w^eek this room was devoted to a large 
and enthusiastic class of married women. 

"A successful class in bookkeeping for men and 
women was conducted. 

"For the first time, at least in the history of our 
Boston schools, except for the class started a short 
time previously in the Lowell Centre, classes in- 
tended expressly to fit for civil service examinations 
were opened. These proved very successful and 
popular, and were joined by some two hundred men. 

"In stenography there were two elementary 
classes and one speed class, composed almost en- 
tirely of young men and women working in com- 
mercial establishments during the day. 

"Four carpentry classes for men were conducted 
in the two manual training rooms. Two of these 



Special Schools and Classes 295 

classes were for beginners and two for advanced 
pupils. 

"A successful class in mechanical drawing and 
drafting, made up of men drawn from a variety of 
trades, met three times a week." 

Several additional features were included in the 
work of the following season, such as steam en- 
gineering conducted by the superintendent of the 
steam-engineering department of the Institute of 
Technology ; a reading room furnished by the aid of 
the Boston Public Library; study rooms for the 
pupils of the two upper grades of the grammar 
schools of the district; a gymnasium for classes of 
young men and women; lectures upon literature, 
geology and civil government. 

Of the general success of these Centres the com- 
mittee above referred to says : 

''One of the characteristics of these Educational 
Centres which has been most remarked upon by 
many of the hundreds of visitors since they were 
opened is the general atmosphere of friendliness 
which pervades all the rooms. The people of the 
neighborhood seem to realize that not only are the 
intellectual advantages of the school at their dis- 
posal, but beyond this there is a warm and friendly 
welcome awaiting each person who enters the build- 
ing. In the rooms where conversation is possible, 
such as the dressmaking and millinery rooms, for 
example, the members of the class carry on a neigh- 
borly chat with each other whenever the teacher is 
not addressing the class as a whole. It is pleasant, 
when the closing hour comes, to see the members of 
the school reluctant to leave the building, lingering 
about the rooms and halls conversing with each 
other. Not only has this atmosphere been com- 



296 



Appendix E 



merited upon repeatedly by visitors, but the same 
thing has been indicated in many other ways. One 
young woman recently made the remark to the 
principal of one of the Centres that she had been 
living in the locality more than a year, supporting 
herself by working in the city during the daytime 
and living by herself in a small room, and up to the 
time the Centre opened she had been leading a 
lonely life without a friend, but as a result of attend- 
ing one of the millinery classes at the Centre she now 
had many good friends. Numberless other interest- 
ing incidents connected with the work of the Centres 
might be related if there were space. For instance^ 
the principal at one of the Centres found that two 
of the young women who had attended his dressmak- 
ing class were married in dresses which they had 
learned to make, and in fact had made, at the Centre. 
It is interesting to note that these young ladies also 
took the course in cooking. The resident physicians, 
clergymen, and others having occasion to be familiar 
with the lives of the people have repeatedly spoken 
of the good effect which they saw resulting from the 
establishment of a Centre in their locality. ' ' 



Popularity of 

vacation 

schools. 



Vacation Schools 
Probably no feature of educational work has 
met with a more surprising response on the part of 
the people than the vacation school. When it was 
first alluded to as a possibility, many doubted the 
wisdom of even offering it, while all supposed that 
as attendance upon it must be voluntary its benefits 
would be shared by but few. But in the opening of 
every vacation school whose programme consisted 
largely of industrial and physical exercises, the 
response has been greater than was expected. In 



Special Schools and Classes 297 

some cases there was an actual waiting list. Thus 
vacation schools of various sizes and kinds have been 
maintained for several seasons in Chicago, New 
York, Boston, Hartford, Providence and many other 
places. 

The following lines have been followed with vary- 
ing degrees of emphasis in the various vacation 
schools : 

1. Manual or industrial training, including work Kinds of work 
in wood, raffia, cane, and metal ; sewing, hammock done in vaca- 
making, cooking, gardening, etc. ^^^^ schools. 

2. Nature study, including the naming of the 
common plants and trees. 

3. Drawing and painting, including mechanical 
and free hand exercises, study of pictures, etc. 

4. Physical exercises, including gymnastics, 
games, and plays. 

5. Music. 

6. Excursions. 

7. Kindergarten exercises. 

8. Common branches. 



School Hygiene 



Two classes of 
hygienic con- 
ditions. 



APPENDIX F. 

[The greater portion of these notes are taken 
from the author's special report made to the Massa- 
chusetts State Board of Education in 1901.] 

Hygienic Conditions. The hygienic conditions of 
schools may be separated into two classes, one class 
consisting of those for which the public authorities 
are responsible, and the other class consisting of 
those for which the parents or pupils are responsible. 
Among the former class of conditions are: (1) the 
location of buildings, (2) construction and plan of 
buildings, (3) school equipment, (4) composition 
and adjustment of the school programme. The con- 
ditions for which the parents or pupils are re- 
sponsible are those which relate to (1) home require- 
ments, (2) social diversions, (3) food and rest, (4) 
personal habits of pupils. These conditions will be 
treated briefly in order. 

Location of School Buildings. The ground upon 
w^hich the schoolhouse is placed should be high, and 

*The figures in parentheses refer to the numbered titles of 
reference books and articles which are printed at the close of 
this report. For a more full bibliography of the subjects con- 
nected with school hygiene, see Kotelmann's School Hygiene, 
pp. 353-382; also Journal of Proceedings of the National 
Educational Association for 1898, pp. 506-523. The last- 
named compilation, made by Dr. Burnham, consists of 436 
titles of books and articles published in this country and 
Europe. 

(298) 



School Hygiene 299 

the soil gravelly or sandy, so as to allow good drain- Desirable 
age and a dry cellar. Clayey soil and soil in which features of 
there is refuse or organic matter are to be avoided. ^^^ ^^^* 
The building should not be located near a swamp or 
standing water, or any place whose odors are offen- 
sive. It should be so retired that the school shall 
not be disturbed by noises. from without, and so far 
removed from the boundaries of the lot upon which 
it is placed that no building upon an adjoining lot 
can shut out the light from the schoolrooms. In 
choosing the lot upon which the building is to be 
placed, let there be generous provision made for 
play and exercise grounds, and, if possible, room for 
shrubs and flowers. 

Schoolrooms and Corridot^s. The size of the school- Size of scliool 
room should be determined by considerations of looms. 
health as well as of convenience. Authorities differ 
as to the amount of space needed, probably owing to 
the fact that the amount of fresh air breathed de- 
pends less upon the size of the room than upon the 
way it is ventilated. It is safe, however, to assume 
that, on account of proper ventilation, a minimum 
of 16 square feet of floor space and 250 cubic feet of 
air space per j^upil should be required.* 

The pupils' eyesight should also be considered in 
determining the size of the room. If, as is assumed 
by some authorities, ordinary writing upon a black- 
board cannot be easily read beyond 30 feet, this 
distance or a little more should be the limit of the 
length of the room. The width of the room should 
be limited to the extent at which satisfactory light- 
ing can be had from the windows on the side of the 

* Tliese amounts are somewhat larger than the requirements 
in several European States, as quoted by Dr. Burnham (4, 
p. 25). 



300 



Appendix F 



Corridors and 
cloak rooms. 



Play and exer- 
cise rooms 



Facilities for 
washing and 
bathing. 



Material and 
place for 
blackboards. 



room. This distance has been generally regarded to 
be 24 feet. For purposes of ventilation and lighting, 
the room should not be less than 12 feet, and need 
not be more than 13 or 14 feet high. 

Ample provision should be made for corridors 
and cloak rooms, placed in such relation to air and 
sunlight as to provide for good ventilation. Under 
no consideration should the outer clothing be hung^ 
in the schoolroom, as is sometimes the case. 

Every school building should have one or more 
rooms that can be used for play in cold or stormy 
weather, and for physical exercises at any time. 
These rooms should be well ventilated, and, if pos- 
sible, exposed to the sun a portion of the day. They 
should be so situated as to be easily accessible from 
all rooms, and so constructed that noisy exercises 
shall not disturb the schools when they are in session. 

In the construction of school buildings, provision 
should always be made for the pupils to wash their 
faces and hands, and whenever it can be done, facili- 
ties for plunge or shower baths should be provided. 
This is especially important in schools whose pupils 
have not bathing facilities at home.f 

The best material for wall blackboards is natural 
slate. They should be built into the wails at such 
parts of the room as will be most convenient for use 
and least harmful to the eyes. As a rule, they 
should not be placed where the reflection of light is 
such as to make it difficult for pupils at their seats 
to see what is written upon them, and in no case 
should they be placed between windows. 

t Baths have been introduced in a number of American and 
European schools. The reports of their use are very favorable 
to their continuance. For reports from Germany, see (4, p. 
38; 11, p. 470). 



School Hygiene 301 

The most Difficult Problem 
Ventilation and Heating. By far the most impor- 
tant as well as the most difficult problem in the con- 
-struction of sehoolhouses is the method of their 
ventilation. The problem consists in keeping the 
air of schoolrooms as nearly as possible in the con- 
dition of pure outdoor air, which consists of oxygen 
and nitrogen in certain proportions, with a small 
quantity of carbonic acid gas and water. After it 
has been through the lungs, the air is changed by an Character of 
increase of about 4 per cent, in volume of carbonic vitiated an-, 
acid gas and by a decrease of about the same 
quantity of oxygen. There is also found in vitiated 
air more or less of organic matter and an increased 
amount of watery vapor. Authorities differ as to 
the causes of the effects of breathing what is called 
^'bad air," some averring that the organic matter 
from the skin and lungs is the cause of the deleter- 
ious effect, and some that the dangers lie not from 
the existence of any poison in the respired air, but 
from an excess of carbonic acid and a deficiency 
of oxygen. But all agree, for one reason or another, 
that the amount of carbonic acid in the air is the 
measure of its impurity.* 

The relative amount of carbonic acid in the air is Tests of purity 
ascertained in various ways, the simplest test being of air. 
made by means of Wolpert's air tester, vdiich con- 
sists of a test tube filled with lime water, and a rub- 
ber bulb with an attached glass tube for pumping the 
air to be tested into the lime water. The number of 
bulbfuls of air used in the test to make the lime 

* For statements as to the cause of contamination in breath- 
ing respired air and for making the amount of carbon dioxide 
in the air the measure of its impurity, see (1, p. 69; 3, p. 34; 
12, p. 124; 27, pp. 18, 23; 20, p. 741). 



302 Appendix F 

water opaque, indicates, as shown by the table, the 
vitiated character of the air. This instrument, at 
best, can give but an approximate test of the charac- 
ter of the air, but sufficient, it may be, if found very 
bad, to Avarrant an accurate analysis or to provide 
better means of ventilation. f 

The quality of air may also be infer entially deter- 
mined by estimating the amount of fresh air that is 
forced into or out of a room in a given time. This 
may be done by means of an anemometer placed in 
the current. The rate per second or minute multi- 
plied by the number of superficial feet in the opening 
will give the volume, which may be compared with 
the amount needed. 

Authorities are agreed that air containing 10 parts 
of carbonic acid to 10,000 is unfit to breathe, and that 
for healthy respiration air should contain not more 
than 7 parts of such gas to 10,000. Measured by 
such a standard, the air of most schoolrooms not 
provided with modern methods of ventilation would 
be regarded as bad or very bad.* 

The amount of air required for each child varies 
from 1,800 to 2,500 cubic feet per hour. If there is 
for each child the amount of space previously indi- 

t Sold by Codman & Shurtleff, Boston, Mass. More ac- 
curate testers are those of Pettenkoffer and of Smith-Lunge, 
both of which are fully described by Kotelmann (1, p. 73). 
The method given by Dr. Cohen is described by Professor 
Burrage (3, p. 37). Other methods of testing the air are 
described by Eichards and Woodman (27, pp. 33, 35). 

* Many tests made of the air in schoolrooms in this country 
and in Europe show most alarming results. From 20 to 50 
parts of carbonic acid gas to 10,000 have been frequently 
found in schoolrooms, and sometimes the proportion has been 
found to be 70 and even 90 to 10,000. For a record of these 
tests, see (4, p. 27; 2, p. 85). 



School Hygiene 303 

cated (16 square feet of floor space and 250 cubic Ventilation 
feet of air space), the air should be changed every needed. 
10 or 12 minutes, — that is, each pupil should be pro- 
vided with at least 30 cubic feet of fresh air per 
minute.* This amount of air, having a temperature 
of not less than 60°, may be introduced and dis- 
tributed by properly located flues without producing 
dangerous draughts. 

When the outside temperature is above 60° F., Ventilation by 
ventilation is easily effected by means of open windows and 
windows and doors. To avoid dangerous draughts °^^^' 
of the incoming air of a low temperature, boards are 
sometimes placed under the lower sashes of the 
windows, so as to allow the current of air to pass 
upward and away from the heads of the pupils. 
To effect the same end, the upper segments of win- 
dows are made to turn upon hinges. Open doors 
into large well-ventilated hallways have also been 
found useful means of ventilation. 

To effect ventilation that is at all adequate in Two methods 
weather having a temperature below 50° F., the of artificial 
natural currents of air should be supplemented by ventilation, 
artificial means, either by heated flues which eject 
the air from the room or by fans which force air 
into it. By the former method, called the vacuum 
or gravity system, fresh air takes the place of the 
air which is forced by gravity from the room through 
the heated flues. By the latter method, known as 
the plenum system, the forced current of inflowing 
fresh air drives the vitiated air from the room 
through flues provided for the purpose. 

In regulating the introduction of air, great care 

* This amount agrees with Dr. Billings 's estimate, and is 
not far from the carefully wrought conclusions of De Chau- 
raont, based upon the investigations of Pettenkoffer (4, p. 24). 



304 



Appendix F 



Source of 
supply of air. 



Size of venti- 
latinsr shafts. 



Situation of 
flues. 



should be taken respecting the source of supply. 
The air should not be taken from the basement, but 
from the outside, where there are no offensive odors 
or dust. Some means of furnishing moisture to the 
air should be employed. 

Attention should be given to the size, situation 
and number of ventilating shafts. The size of the 
inlets must be large enough to supply fresh air 
sufficient to compensate for the air that is taken 
out, and the outlets must be of sufficient size to 
make the desired change of air* 

The flues should be so situated as to provide for 
the fullest circulation of air in the room. Experi- 
ments have shown that good if not the best results 
are attained by placing the inlet in the middle or 
upper part of the wall and the outlet near the floor 
upon the same side. It is also advisable to have 
two or more outlets, so as to avoid draughts oc- 
casioned by rapidly moving currents. f 

In rooms where the warm air enters only in the 



* Professor Clark (6, p. 66) estimates that a shaft 20 feet 
high, with a difference in temperature of 20°, should have a 
sectional area of 5^ square feet to carry off 48,000 cubic 
feet per hour. This estimate is made upon the basis of 
supplying 1,000 cubic feet per hour for each jiupil. To 
supply 2,000 cubic feet per hour, the sectional area of the 
outlet should be 10| square feet. 

t The matter of location of inlets and outlets is discussed 
fully by Professor Burrage (3, p. 43) ; also by Mr. Carpenter 
(7, p. 55), who says that much depends upon existing con- 
ditions. He says: ''It has been proved practically that with 
rooms of about the proportion shown in diagram [15:32] 
good results in the diffusion of heat and air are obtained 
by introducing the air at a point tviP thirds of the distance 
from floor to ceiling and near one corner, and locating the 
register for discharge of air on the same side of the room 
but near the floor and near the lower diagonal corner." 



School Hygiene 305 

upper portion, and where there is no direct radia- Direct radia- 
tion, extra provision should be made for warming ^ion in halls, 
feet and drying clothing. This may be done by 
placing radiators or registers at the floor of the 
halls, where heating rather than ventilation is the 
main desideratum. 

An open fire is a poor means of heating, but an The open fire- 
excellent means of ventilation. Many modern P^^^e as a 

,,,.,-,. , -21 • • means of 

school buildings have fireplaces m every room, m ., . 

most of which no fire is ever made. Doubtless the 
unused fireplace may serve as a means of ventila- 
tion, but not nearly so efficiently as a fireplace with 
even a little fire in it. Apart from possible dangers 
of drafts, there is probably no better means of 
carrying away the vitiated air than an open fire. 
The excuse usually offered for not having a fire in 
the fireplace is entirely insufficient. There is no 
good system of ventilation that does not require care, 
trouble and expense. 

This may be a good place to say that skill and Management of 
good judgment are necessary in looking after any ^PP^^"^*"^- 
appliance designed for ventilation. It should not 
be intrusted, for the sake of economy or any other 
reason, to ignorant or unreliable persons, since 
ordinarily as much depends upon the way in which 
a system of ventilation is managed as upon the 
system itself. Nor should a knowledge of the system 
used be confined to the engineer or janitor. For 
the sake of needed co-operation, the superintendent 
of schools and the teachers— especially the principal 
—of the school in which the system is used ought to 

know the construction of the system and the best ^ 

. Frequent 

method of working It. sweep of winds 

In the best systems of ventilation flushing of the through looms 
schoolroom by natural air currents is necessary to necessary. 



300) Appendix F 

carry off the organic dust and condensed vapors 
which cannot be fully taken away by the ventilat- 
ing flues. Upon this point Professor Clark says 
(6, p. 63) : "Nothing can take the place of aeration 
by means of open windows. Artificial ventilation 
though required for changing the air when the 
windows are necessarily closed, is insufficient, even 
under the best circumstances, unless the room is 
from time to time thoroughly refreshed and purified 
by the sweep of the free winds through all its win- 
dows widely opened. Such an atmospheric washing 
should be secured three or four times daily in all 
weathers; at recess, particularly, it should be in- 
sisted on, banishing teachers and pupils from the 
room meanwhile, if necessary. ' ' 
Direct radia- In the choice of means of heating schoolrooms, the 

tion not desir- necessity of bringing into them the needed supply 
of warmed fresh air must be kept in mind. The 
direct radiation from stoves and from steam and hot 
water pipes does not accomplish this end, and is 
therefore not a desirable means of heating. This 
statement applies only to schoolrooms where there 
is not an adequate supply of warmed air by furnace 
or indirect radiation. Heating by direct radiation 
alone may be permitted in dressing rooms and halls, 
but not in schoolrooms. If, however, air from with- 
out is introduced behind the stoves and radiators, 
some of the objections are removed. The loss of 
heat by supplying air in this way is shown by Profes- 
sor Woodbridge (8, p. 19). The method of supply- 
ing fresh air in rooms where stoves are used and 
of constructing outgoing air ducts will be referred 
Hot water as a to later. Hot water as a means of heating is to be 
preferred to steam, for the reason that in moderate 
weather the heat can be better regulated by hot 



able 



means of heat 
ing 



School Hygiene 307 

water than by steam, and that in very cold weather 
the air is not so likely to be overheated or 
** burned."* 

The objections urged against heating by the hot- Objections to 
air furnace are: (1) An unequal distribution of heat ^^^t-air 
in the various parts of a large building and in the 
upper and lower parts of each room; (2) the pro- 
duction and dissemination of offensive gases; (3) 
the occasioning of dryness of the air, already re- 
ferred to. Makers of modern furnaces have sought 
to overcome all these objections, and in some meas- 
ure have been successful, so far as small buildings 
are concerned; but for large buildings the hot-air 
furnace is not to be recommended. 

Perhaps the most unsatisfactory means of heating Jacketed 
schoolrooms is the ordinary wood or coal stove, — stoves for heat- 
the means most generally employed in country dis- ^^^, venti- 
tricts. To avoid the unequal distribution of heat in 
rooms heated in this way and to promote in some 
degree ventilation, the stove should be enclosed by 
a metallic jacket, the enclosed chamber being con- 
nected with the outer air by means of a shaft of 
sufficient size to admit the needed amount of air. 
In addition to this, flues should be so constructed as 
to carry away the vitiated air in sufficient quantity 
to keep the air of the room in good condition. To 
avoid radiation from overheated surfaces, two 
stoves should be provided for use on very cold days. 
A more detailed description of this method of heat- 
ing and ventilation will be given later. 

By far the best method of heating schoolrooms is Indirect radla- 
by indirect radiation, by which coils of pipe are *^^^ preferred. 

* The burning or dry sensation, as explained by Kotelmann 
(1, p. 113), is frequently due to the scorching of dust 
particles which come in contact with overheated surfaces. 



308 



Appendix F 



The fan 

system. 



The best ven- 
tilation of one 
and two room 
school houses. 



heated in chambers, from which the warmed air is 
taken into the rooms. This is done either by the 
plenum or by the gravity system, already referred 
to. On many accounts the plenum system is to be 
preferred, by which the warm air is forced into the 
rooms by fans propelled either by electric or water 
motors or by steam. But in the opinion of good 
judges this plan works best when the foul-air flues 
are heated so as to draw the air from the rooms or 
when these flues are connected with exhaust fans. 
The only objection to the fan system is the first cost. 
When the system is once established, the cost of 
maintaining it is said to be less than the cost of 
maintaining a simple gravity system. This is es- 
pecially true when the steam used in operating the 
fans is used for heating the rooms. 

It is not necessary to give in detail the plans of 
heating and ventilating by the method just de- 
scribed. It is used now in most of the larger modern 
buildings, and its merit may be easily tested by 
actual observation. The greatest difficulty is found 
in ventilating and heating small one and two room 
country schoolhouses. Respecting this difficulty 
Dr. Edward E. Shaw says (29, pp. 106-108) : ''In 
order to ventilate the rural schoolhouse, the stove 
should be placed in one corner of the room and near 
the chimney. The stove should be enclosed by a 
sheet-iron jacket, leaving a distance of from 18 inches 
to 2 feet between the stove and the inside of the 
jacket. The jacket should be about 6 feet high, and 
should extend to the floor. The opening in the 
jacket for the purpose of supplying the stove with 
fuel should be as narrow as feasible. A cold air 
duct should be constructed to lead from the outside 
of the building underneath the floor, and to open 



School Hygiene 309 

beneath the stove, so that pure, fresh air will flow 
in, be warmed by the stove, and rise to the ceiling. 

''The point to be secured in the heating and 
ventilating of the rnral schoolhouse is the quick 
and uniform distribution of the heat to all parts of 
the room. In the opposite side of the room from the 
stove, a tin or galvanized-iron ventilating duct should 
be constructed, oblong in shape, having its cross- 
section dimensions 12 x 6 inches. The open end of 
this duct should be within 1 foot of the floor. The 
flue should extend to the ceiling and run along the 
ceiling to the chimney. There should not be any 
sharp angle in this duct, but ,a curved bend where 
the upright section unites with that which runs along 
the ceiling. The ventilating duct should discharge 
into a large chimney flue at least 14 x 20 inches of 
cross-section area. In the middle of this flue there 
should run a sheet-iron pipe of suflicient capacity to 
the smoke and gases from the stove. The heat 
radiated from this pipe when there is a brisk fire 
in the stove will cause a strong draft in the flue 
and draw the air out of the schoolroom through the 
ventilating duct. 

''The plan already described is the simplest and 
most economical for effecting some degree of ventila- 
tion in rural schoolhouses. A better plan would be 
to place the stove in one corner of the room sur- 
rounded by a sheet-iron jacket, and to construct a 
flue opening underneath the stove and connecting 
with the outer air, as has already been recommended. 
Three openings might then be made in the floor, one 
in the corner opposite that in which the stove is 
placed, and the other two on the sides of the room 
equally distant from the stove. These outlets 
through the floor, which are to be fitted with regis- 



310 



Appendix F 



Requirements 
in Massachu- 
setts 



ters, should have tin duets running from them and 
uniting into one duct just before opening into the 
ventilating flue, which is to be constructed as already 
described. This would secure a more even with- 
drawal of the vitiated air from the schoolroom, and 
at the same time a more equal distribution of heat 
than by the employment of a single duct. ' ' 

The standard of requirements made by the state 
inspectors of public buildings in ^lassachusetts is 
shown by the following statement which is sent to 
all the school committees of the state : 

"In the ventilation of school buildings the many 
hundred examinations made by the inspectors of this 
department have shown that the following require- 
ments can be easily complied with : 

"1. That the apparatus will, with proper manage- 
ment, heat all the rooms, including the corridors, to 
70° F. in any weather. 

"2. That, with the rooms at 70° and a difference 
of not less than 40° between the temperature of the 
outside air and that of the air entering the room at 
the warm-air inlet, the apparatus will supply at 
least 30 cubic feet of air per minute for each scholar 
accommodated in the rooms. 

''3. That such supply of air will so circulate in 
the rooms that no uncomfortable draught will be felt, 
and that the difference in temperature between any 
two points on the breathing plane in the occupied 
portion of a room will not exceed 3°. 

"4. That vitiated air in amount equal to the 
supply from the inlets will be removed through 
the ventiducts. 

"5. That the sanitary appliances will be so venti- 
lated that no odors therefrom will be perceived in 
any portion of the building. 



School Hygiene 311 

"To secure the approval of this department of 
plans showing methods or systems of heating and 
ventilation, the above requirements must be guaran- 
teed in the specifications accompanying the plans." 

Lighting 

The two chief considerations in reference to light- 
ing schoolrooms are the amount of light and the 
direction from which it enters the room. In several 
European states the ratio of window surface to floor Pvatio of win- 
surface in schoolrooms is fixed by law, at 1 to 6 when <^low surface to 
the building stands free, and 1 to 4 when the light ^^^^ surface, 
is obstructed by neighboring buildings (1, p. 47). 
In Prussia the least amount required is 1 to 5— a 
ratio now generally accepted as the least amount of 
lighting surface schoolrooms should have. This 
amount should be increased if the light is obstructed 
by high buildings or trees. 

Many authorities agree with Dr. Cohn, that there The miuimum 
cannot be too much light in a schoolroom (12, p. 99). o^hght needed. 
The test of brightness certainly should be applied to 
places farthest away from the windows, and upon 
cloudy days. The standard usually recognized in 
Germany (4, p. 34) is that of a minimum brightness 
on dull days of 10 normal metre-candles, i.e., of 10 
spermaceti candles, 1 metre distant, each candle 
weighing J of a pound. 

Where photometric measurements cannot be made, 
Von Hoffman's method of testing the amount of 
light might be followed. He says that the light is 
insufficient when a normal eye cannot read the Snel- 
len type No. 6 at a distance of 6 metres (4, p. 34). 
Other tests suggested by Dr. Burnham are to ascer- 
tain if every pupil can see some portion of the sky, 
or if every normally sighted pupil can, upon a cloudy 



312 



Appendix F 



Distance of 
seats from 
windows. 



Direction from 
which light 
should enter 
the room. 



day, read Diamond type at a distance of 30 centi- 
metres.* Dr Burnham further says: "The light in 
schoolrooms is very apt to be deficient, because 
officials do not realize that light diminishes, not as 
the distance, but as the square of the distance." It 
seems reasonable to place 20 feet as the greatest 
distance from which any pupil should be seated from 
a well-lighted window. 

As to the direction from which the light should 
enter the schoolroom, authorities are divided. Pro- 
fessor Forster, Dr. Young (2, p. 261) and others urge 
that schoolrooms be so situated that no direct rays 
of the sun can enter them; while Dr. Cohn, Dr. 
Burgerstein (12, p. 11) and many others advocate 
a southern exposure for the rooms. Perhaps a com- 
promise may be made by having the room exposed 
to the sun's rays a small portion of the forenoon or 
afternoon. Dr. Kotelmann (1, p. 36) has this view, 
and says a southeast exposure is to be preferred. 

Again, there is some difference of opinion as to the 
proper direction of light in respect to the pupils at 
their seats. The weight of opinion, however, seems 
to favor admitting the light from the left of the 
pupils, or from the left and rear, provided the former 
light is the stronger. Nearly all authorities are 
agreed that lighting from both the left and right 
sides is not advisable. In no case should the light 
come to the pupils from the front. The windows 
should consist of large panes of glass of good quality. 
They should extend as near as possible to the top of 
of the room, and be placed close together. 

Venetian blinds f and curtains of a dark color are 



* This footnote is printed in Diamond type. 

f Professor Forster (3, p. 55) and Dr, Kotelmann (1, p. 
50) both condemn the use of Venetian blinds in schoolrooms. 



School Hygiene 313 

not favored, on account of their obstruction to light. 

Fixtures should be used which will permit the cur- Kind of 

tain to be raised from the bottom, or so that it may curtains 

be raised or lowered from the middle of the window, ^^^^^^• 

as circumstances require. It should be remembered, 

however, that the upper part of the window is much 

better for lighting purposes than the lower, and that 

it should not be covered by a curtain unless to shut 

out the direct rays of the sun. 

In rooms that are insufficiently lighted, the ceilings 

and walls should be light, but not dazzling. A light 

gray or green color for the walls is recommended by 

good authorities. The light of such rooms is in- The use of 

creased and diffused by the use of prisms and reflec- P^^^ms and 

reflectors for 
tors.' Hennig's daylight reflector is described by , M-fp ""• '•> 

Kotelmann (1, p. 46) and recommended by him. In light. 

our own country the products of the American 

Luxfer Prism Company of Chicago and New York 

have been in successful use in stores, factories and 

schoolrooms. From tests recently made in the 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under the 

direction of Mr. Charles L. Norton, the following 

conclusions were reached, as stated by Mr. Edward 

Atkinson : 

"J^W5^.— Windows of the customary height, but 
of one-third the width commonly adopted, when 
glazed with ribbed or suitable prismatic glass, will 
give on a bright day as much effective light as the 
full width of window glazed with plane glass ; on a 
cloudy day, or in a position where the light from the 
sky is derived from a limited area, even a greater 
ratio. 

"Seco7id. — Windows of the common type now in 

Dr. Kotelmann estimates that only .6 to 1.5 per cent, of the 

daylight passes through the slats inclined 45°. ' 



314 



Appendix F 



mills, workshops or schoolrooms, now fitted with 
plane glass, if reglazed in the upper half only with 
ribbed or prismatic glass, will yield on a bright day 
more than fifty per cent, excess of effective light, 
or on dark days a larger ratio. If reglazed down to 
but not including the lower panes (in which we ad- 
vise plane glass), the increase in effective light will 
be much greater." 



"^ Water- Closets and Outbuildings 

In places where there are systems of sewerage and 
water supply, there ought not to be any difficulty in 
keeping the water-closets in a perfectly good con- 
dition. The problem of preventing an offensive and 
unsanitary condition of the premises is especially 
difficult in places where there are no water system for 
flushing and no sewers to carry off the refuse matter. 
The [danger of Where there is a water supply without sewers, the 
cesspools. temptation is to empty the refuse into cesspools. 

But this should not be done. The cesspool Professor 
Burrage regards as "one of the greatest of sanitary 
evils" (3, p. 60), and as "more dangerous than the 
badly constructed sewer." 

Where circumstances do not permit the erection 
of water-closets, or the ventilating, drying or fire 
closets (3, p. 61) which are now successfully used 
in many places, separate sanitaries must be provided, 
and cared for in ways which will prevent the dangers 
of infection or the annoyance of bad odors. To 
Location and accomplish these ends, (1) the privies should be 
^!?f£L^^^^^^ placed at a good distance from the school building; 
(2) the privy vault should be entirely above the sur- 
face of the ground, the catch-basin being constructed 
so as not to leak; (3) provision should be made for 
the storage of dry earth or sifted coal ashes, and 



sanitaries. 



School Hygiene 315 

for sprinkling the catch-basin daily with this mate- 
rial. "Nothing less commendable" than these ac- 
commodations for sanitaries, says Dr. Young (2, p. 
253), "should be tolerated." 

Water Supply 

The purity of water supply for schools is no less 
important from the standpoint of health than that 
of the air supply. Under the laws of the state there 
seems to be ample protection from the harm in the 
case of public water supplies. The greatest danger The use of 
lies from the use of water taken from wells in remote ^^^^^ ^^ 
country sections, and especially wells that are used ^^"° ^^ owns, 
only a portion of the year. Respecting these sources 
of water supply for schools Dr. Frank Wells says 
(26, p. 17) : "During the vacations no water is taken 
from them, and hence it becomes stagnant. In the 
autumn, when the term commences, the water in this 
condition is drunk by the scholars, thereby, either 
alone or in connection with the unsanitary condition 
of the surroundings, tending to produce sickness, 
which may be wrongly attributed to the houses in 
which the children dwell. ' ' 

Unfortunately, the purity of water, unlike that of 
air, cannot be ascertained by simple tests (27, p. 80). 
The only safe course for school authorities appears Examination of 
to be to examine carefully the surrounding condi- conditions 
tions, nearness to privy vaults, cesspool, drains, etc., 
and, if there are possible occasions of contamination, 
to call the aid of the State Board of Health or an 
expert analyst. 

Baths 
The great use of baths in connection with the 
schools is becoming to be recognized, both on account 
of the means they afford for cleanliness and for the 



desirable. 



316 



Appendix F 



School baths in 
Germany. 



Baths in the 
Paul Revere 
school, Boston. 



habit which frequent bathing tends to form. 
School baths have been introduced in several cities; 
of Germany with great success. Dr. Burnham 
describes briefly the plan pursued in these cities, and 
further says (4, p. 38) : ''The reports from those 
schools where baths have have been introduced are 
uniformly favorable. The bathing is usually volun- 
tary, but it is generally approved by the parents. 
Some of the children have a sort of hydrophobia^ 
at first, but generally after a little time enjoy the 
bath. In Gottingen, after a half year, ninety per 
cent, of the pupils voluntarily shared in the school 
baths. The children return to their study refreshed 
in mind and body. There is an improvement in the 
air of the schoolroom. It is maintained that the 
bath has an educating effect upon the children, in 
giving them a sense of cleanliness. Much stress is 
placed also upon the educating influence that the 
introduction of school baths has upon the parents^ 
in making them care for the children's undercloth- 
ing and the like. In many cases great improvement 
in the health of children has resulted from the habit 
of regular bathing." 

In Boston, one of the schools— the Paul Revere — 
is supplied with baths whose use is thus described 
by the principal, Mr. Button : "Since the baths have 
been opened, an average of 175 pupils have had a 
bath every school day. This gives every pupil in 
the school over 8 years of age an opportunity to 
bathe once a week, and 95% improve the privilege. 
The baths are in charge of a matron ; each class is 
assigned a time to bathe, as they would for a recita- 
tion. 

''The scheme works smoothly and beautifully, and 
is a blessing to the children physically, mentally and 



School Hygiene 317 

morally, and a blessing to the teachers, too. I am 
inclined to think that, if a child bathes once a week 
from 8 to 14 years of age, he will always seek to be 
clean and wholesome. 

**The city furnishes towels and soap. The 
average expense thus far, per bath, has been about 
3% cents. I think and trust that the time is at hand 
when all of our schools will be equipped not only 
with shower baths but with swimming pools. As 
educational agents they cannot be surpassed." 

The expense given above is much greater than 
that of the school baths in Germany, which are 
stated to be about one-forth of a cent apiece. In 
Germany, however, ''the pupils bathe by classes, the 
bathing is carefully supervised, pupils come in divi- 
sions like soldiers and follow each other every five 
minutes, and thus a large number of pupils bathe in 
a very short time" (4, p. 38). 

Furniture and Furnishings 
Investigations have clearly shown that there is a 
close relation between certain physical deformities 
and wrong habits of sitting occasioned by contin- 
uously constrained and unhygienic positions in 
school. As a consequence, the importance of provid- Desirable 
ing proper desks and seats in the interests of health features of 
is now generally recognized. The width, heigth 
and shape of the seat, the shape, height and slope of 
the desk, the distance between the seat and the desk 
and the distance between the height of the seat and 
that of the desk, are considerations which have re- 
ceived the closest attention of specialists both in 
Europe and this country.* 

* For the detailed records of investigations and conclusions 
of specialists see (12, p. 55; 1, p. 128; 2, p. 270). 



desks and 
seats. 



318 



Appendix F 



Height of 
desk and size 
of seat. 



The distance 
from seat to 
desk. 



Relative height 
of desk and 
seat. 



Movable desk 
tops and seats. 



The following statements may be said to fairly 
summarize their conclusions : 

The height of the desk should be the distance from 
the sole of the foot to the knee, equal, according to 
careful estimates, from jy to -f of the height of the 
pupil. The Avidth of the seat should be about % of 
the length of the uper leg or -| of the height of the 
pupil. It should be sloped gently backward, and 
its edge should be rounded. The back rest should 
be such as to give support to the back under the 
shoulders and above the hip bones. The distance 
from the front edge of the seat to a perpendicular 
dropped from the rear edge of the desk should be 
for writing a minus distance; that is, the edge of 
the desk should overlap the seat from one to two 
inches. For all other purposes the distance should 
be zero, but never plus. 

These conditions imply that either the top of the 
desk or the seat must be movable. The difference 
or perpendicular distance from the seat to the upper 
edge of the desk should be such that the pupil sitting 
erect can easily place his forearms upon the desk 
without changing the natural position of the 
shoulders. Some authorities say that this distance 
should be about ^ the height of the pupil. The 
slope of the desk should vary from that of about 
30° for writing to that of about 45° for reading, 
which again implies a movable desk top. 

The desirability of having some arrangement by 
which pupils may easily get into and out of their 
seats and stand in recitation is an added reason for 
providing more room between the desk and the seat 
than is permitted by the above-mentioned measure- 
ments. Many inventions have been made to supply 
these needs, as well as to secure a varying slope of 



School Hygiene 319 

the desk top;* but, apart from the common hinged 
seat, few of them have as yet been adopted by Ameri- 
can school furniture makers. Where the small seat 
is used there is less need of movable desk tops and 
seats than where the seat is long and is of uniform 
width, as it is generally in Germany. 

The minute studies from which the above general 
statements are derived were made with reference 
mainly to stationary desks and seats. A large num- 
ber of measurements and estimates have been made, 
so as to ascertain the average size of the bodies of 
pupils for pupils of a given age. While the tables 
embodying these estimates are of great value to 
school authorities who desire to know the approxi- 
mate sizes of desks and seats needed, they are of 
comparatively little value to those who secure for 
the schools adjustable seats and desks. Such furni- Adjustable 
ture will come more and more into use, in spite of seats^and 
its increased cost over the stationary kind, as the 
necessity of a constant adjustment of the school 
seat and desk to the corresponding measurements 
of the child *s body becomes obvious. 

While the measurements and directions above 
given are of special value to the authorities who are 
selecting and putting down stationary desks and 
seats, they will also be found useful to those who are 
setting up and adapting to pupils the adjustable 
desks and seats. Some of these seats are constructed 
with reference to changing not only the height of the 
desks and seats but also the slope of the desk top. 

Of school furniture, other than desks and seats, 

* A full description of these inventions in Germany is 
given by Burgerstein (12, p. 75) and by Kotelmann (1, p, 
147). An interesting essay upon school seats, by Drs. Brad- 
ford and Stone, is printed in (13, p. 611). 



320 



Appendix F 



which should be selected on hygienic grounds, may 
be mentioned movable blackboards, crayons, erasers, 
outline maps and drinking cups. 

The material to be preferred for a movable black- 
board is natural slate, both because it can be erased 
with a moist cloth or eraser, and thus reduce the 
amount of dust raised, and also because it has not a 
Blackboards shiny surface. Artificial applications that have not 
and crayons. these objectionable features may be used. The dust- 
less crayons are likely to raise less dust than the 
ordinary crayons, and for that reason are to be pre- 
ferred; but when they are so hard as to give faint 
lines, they should be used sparingly. Crayon 
holders, especially for colored crayons, are recom- 
mended. 

Outline maps should be selected that have clearly 
drawn lines, and should be placed for use upon map 
stands in a good light near to the pupils using them. 
Charts and Care also should be taken to select only those books 
text-books. for pupils' use which have clear and well-defined 
print, and whose pages have a plain, dull surface. 
This is especially important in the selection of text- 
books, or those books which are in constant use by 
the pupils. The best authorities advise for young 
children books printed from "Pica" or "Great 
Primer" type, and condemn, for pupils of any grade, 
the use of books printed from type smaller than 
"Long Primer." 

The following are illustrations of these types:— 

Long Primer 
Pica 

Great Primer 

Much attention has been given of late to the 
dangers of the common use of drinking cups in 



School Hygiene 321 

school. To avoid all possible dangers of infection, 
either individual cups or the drinking fountain Drinking cups 
should be used. By the latter plan, pupils are en- ^^^ fountain, 
abled to drink from a constantly flowing jet of 
water rising three or four inches, thus avoiding all 
possible danger of contamination. The fountains 
are used with success in Boston (Roxbury), and 
Webster, Mass., Plainfield, Asbury Park, and West- 
field, N. J. 

The common use of penholders and pencils by the Penholders and 
pupils, though less objectionable than the common pencils, 
use of drinking cups, is nevertheless to be avoided 
as far as possible. Each pupil of the schools of 
Springfield, Mass., is provided with his own pen- 
holder and pencil at the beginning of the year, as 
well as with a drinking cup. 

The Care of School Buildings and Appliances 
What has been said of the importance, from a 
hygienic point of view, of care in connection with 
ventilation, may be said with equal force of the 
school building in general. It should not be neces- 
sary to say that the schoolrooms should be kept as 
free from dirt and dust as good homes, and yet the 
fact is quite forgotten by many persons who have 
the management of schools. 

In the first place, the thorough cleaning which 
every good housekeeper deems necessary for her 
home at least once a year should be done for the 
schoolhouse. A few days before the end of the The washing, 
summer vacation the floors should be thoroughly sweeping and 

scrubbed and all other parts should be washed and ^"^^^^o of 

imi ' ^ iiTi TTf. 1* school houses, 

wiped. The windows should be washed frequently.* 

* Eulenberg and Bach (11, p. 544) say that the windows 
should be washed every month. When windows are washed, 



322 



Appendix F 



Oiled floors. 



The care of 
water closets 
and urinals. 



During the school year the floors in all parts 
should be swept, or, if oiled, carefully wiped three 
times a week, the more exposed parts being brushed 
up daily. The rooms should be carefully dusted 
daily with a damp cloth. The sweeping and dust- 
ing should be done at such a time and in such a way 
as to leave no floating dust in the room while the 
school is in session. The best time and way of 
sweeping is after school at night, with open windows, 
the floors being sprinkled with damp sawdust. 

One method of allaying the dust in schoolrooms, 
to which much attention has been given recently, is 
that of oiling the floors. If the material is wisely 
selected and carefully put on, great good from a 
sanitary point of view will result. But the floors 
so treated must be wiped off frequently, to accom- 
plish fully the desired results. Annoyance from 
oiled floors on account of their soiling dresses will be 
slight, if too much oil is not used and the floor is 
frequently cleaned.* 

The sanitaries need careful attention daily. 
Water-closets and urinals should be thoroughly 
flushed two or three times a day, and all traces of 
uncleanness be wiped away. Occasionally simple 
disinfectants and deodorizers, such as superphos- 
phate and lime, should be sprinkled in the vaults 
and about the urinals; but it should be understood 



as they frequently are, only in July, they are likely to be- 
come dusty before the school begins in September. The 
better time for washing the windows is September or October. 

* The desirability of keeping the schoolrooms free from 
dust, especially those rooms in which gymnastic exercises are 
given, is shown by a scientific treatment of the dangers of 
breathing dust, written by Dr. Schmidt and quoted by Dr. 
Young (2, p. 225). 



School Hygiene 323 

that nothing of this kind can take the place of a 
liberal application of water. In places where there 
is no plumbing, corrosive sublimate, bleaching 
powder, or copperas may be used as a deodorizer. 

If the sanitary drinking fountain, such as has 
been referred to, is not used, or if individual drink- 
ing cups are not provided, the cups used for drink- Care of drink- 
ing should be washed frequently with hot water and ^^S cups, 
soap. If the building is supplied Avith public water, 
the cups should stand under running water all 
the time during school hours. In some quarters 
the custom has prevailed of using each night 
sulpho-napthol in disinfecting the drinking cups. 
It has also been used about doors, hand rails and 
sanitaries. 

One possible cause of infection is the common use 
of pencils, penholders, erasers, etc. This danger has 
been prevented to a large extent in Everett, Mass., 
by a simple means of disinfection devised by Dr. r^^^^ disinfec- 
Whitehill of that city. It is thus described by tion of 
Superintendent Condon: apparatus. 

*'The danger of contagion through the distribu- 
tion of pencils, penholders, drawing models and 
other articles which are used by several pupils, has 
long Been recognized by the medical profession. We 
believe it has been left for a member of your board 
Dr. G. E. Whitehill, to devise a simple, inexpensive 
and yet effective piece of apparatus for thoroughly 
disinfecting supplies of this kind. The apparatus 
consists of a tin chest, with a tightly fitting cover, 
in size 12 by 12 by 15 inches. In this is room for 
trays 1 inch in depth, with wooden sides, and the bot- 
tom covered with wire netting of a small mesh. The 
bottom tray rests upon a narrow shelf at each end, 
having a space 21/^ inches below the lowest tray. 



324 



Appendix F 



Rules for 
avoiding in- 
fection. 



Care of win- 
dows and 
management 
of curtains. 



The other trays rest upon each other. In the free 
space at the bottom is kept a sponge saturated with 
formaldehyde. Each class room is supplied with a 
tray, and as the pencils, penholders, erasers or other 
articles are collected, they are placed in this tray, 
to be left over night in the tin chest. The forma- 
line gas evaporates and comes in contact with all 
the articles in the different trays, destroying any 
germs which may have adhered to them. 

The danger from infection is partially met in the 
recommendations of the Marlborough, Mass., board 
of health: (1) That the teachers in the schools shall 
require each pupil to keep and use his own individ- 
ual books and school apparatus, desk and chair in 
the schoolroom, and hook for outside clothing; (2) 
that only such apparatus be used in the schools as 
can be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected by being 
dipped in boiling water; (3) that the drinking dip- 
pers in the school buildings be boiled as often as 
once a week. 

Next in importance to providing windows and 
shades of the right kind in schoolrooms, is the proper 
care of them. The windows should be kept clean by 
frequent washing and wiping, and the curtains 
should be so managed that all the pupils may receive 
the most and best light that the windows will afford. 

It is safe to say that in a majority of rooms whose 
windows are furnished with curtains the latter in- 
junction is not followed. The curtains generally are 
drawn from the top, and in far too many rooms they 
cover during the entire day — and sometimes during 
cloudy days — the upper third or half of every win- 
dow. Sometimes also the curtains upon the windows 
placed in front of the pupils are not drawn, while 



School Hygiene 325 

much work is required to be copied from black- 
boards situated between two windows. 

There can be little wonder at the large number 
of pupils in the middle and higher grades having 
diseased eyes, when the prevailing conditions and Defective 
practice in the schools are considered. In almost ^^S^*- 
every one of the scores of investigations which have 
been made within ten years in Europe and America 
the results were most alarming, — from 20% to 60% 
of children in the elementary schools having defec- 
tive sight, and even a higher percentage in high 
schools.* 

Some investigations have shown that, while many 
cases of impaired sight may be traced to inheritance, 
a large percentage of cases is directly due to an over- 
strain of the eyes in school.f Teachers should 
constantly guard themselves against requiring 
written work to be done during cloudy days. Exercises on 
especially during the last hour of the day. Upon dark days, 
very dark days very little reading or study should 
be required. In schools which have more than one 
grade there should be at such times oral and general 
exercises for all the pupils. 

In no respect are complaints of neglect more Faults in the 

frequently heard from superintendents than in con- care of heating 

nection with the care of the heating and ventilating ^^^ ventilating 

^ - , - • • . apparatus, 

apparatus. In rooms heated by stoves it is not 

*For details of some investigations, see 3, p. 151; 1, p, 
241; 2, p. 100; 12, p. 353; 4, p. 7. 

t Dr. Kotelmann cites several instances (1, p. 112) in 
which great differences in the soundness of pupils' eyes were 
shown to be due to differences of school conditions and re- 
quirements. In one case the percentage of myopia had in 
eight years decreased three to fifty per cent, in the various 
rooms of a high school whose hygienic conditions had been 
improved. 



326 Appendix F 

uncommon to find the temperature below 60° during 
the first hour of the morning session, because the fire 
was built late, and 75° or 80° later in the day. The 
all too small aperture for letting out the impure air 
is frequently closed by janitors, and allowed to re- 
main closed by carelessness of teachers. 

Even the best apparatus for heating and ventila- 
tion does not escape the results of carelessness and 
ignorance. The stack heater for the exhaust flue 
frequently remains unused for days and weeks to- 
gether, simply to save coal or kerosene, or possibly 
a little trouble. Janitors are inclined to close the 
fresh-air inlets in cold weather, and permit air to 
enter from the basement, with the result of having 
the air circulate through the schoolrooms and water- 
closets in common. So many and various are the 
ways of neglecting the ventilating apparatus, that 
nothing short of a complete automatic attachment 
will suffice to keep the room unfailingly at the 
desired temperature of 68°. 

Composition and Adjustment of tpie School 
Programme 

Thus far among hygienic conditions for which 
school authorities are alone responsible, I have re- 
ferred only to those of an external kind. Other 
conditions of the same class affecting the health of 
the pupils are those which relate to the composition 
and adjustment of the school programme. These 
will be treated briefly under the following heads : 
(1) course of studies, (2) daily programme and in- 
struction, (3) intermissions, (4) school sessions, (5) 
length of recitation, and (6) amount of work re- 
quired of pupils. 



School Hygiene 327 

Course of Studies. — It is easy enough to say that 

the school programme should have such an extent, 

variety, and arrangement of studies as will conduce 

to the physical as well as mental well-being of all 

the pupils ; to make and apply such a programme is 

quite a different matter. The difficulty of arranging Difficulty of 

a course of studies suited to all is realized when arranging a 

it is known that all pupils, the bright and the dull, ^^]^^^^^ ^^ y 

^ ^ suited to all. 

the strong and the weak, should have enough pro- 
vided for them fully to tax their powers without 
injury either to the body or to the mind. 

The task, however, of laying out a general course 
of studies is considerably lessened if it is kept in 
mind that the adaptation of subjects to pupils lies 
largely with the teacher. To give her sufficient An elastic 
freedom in this regard, the course which she has as course needed. 
a guide must be general and elastic ; that is, it must 
be such that the work required of pupils will be 
subject to conditions of temperament, health and 
outside demands, as well as to those of intellectual 
ability. 

So important is this principle of adaptation, and 
such is the difference in pupils, that, if the require- 
ments of any course of studies prevent one pupil 
from doing much more than what another pupil of 
the same class will be able to do, or if they force one 
pupil to do much less than what another pupil of 
the same class ought to do, they are not what they 
should be. 

Again, the importance of protecting the children 
during the transition period from the kindergarten Transition 
to the school or from the home to the school should P^^^d. 
be recognized by giving a large proportion of obser- 



328 



Appendix F 



Anxiety at- 
tending exam- 
inations and 
promotions. 



Allowance of 
time for 
physical train- 
ing- 



Treatment of 
defectives. 



vation, manual and physical exercises during the 
first year or two of the course.* 

It is well known that it is not so much the amount 
of work that one has to do as the worry occasioned 
in doing it that causes physical and mental collapse. 
And so it is not so much the number of studies, or 
even the amount of work given to them, as the strain 
of anxiety in preparing for examinations, and fear 
of not being promoted, that most injures the pupils. 
So far as the course of studies has to do with these 
occasions of exhaustion and ill health, it should be 
made so as to protect both teachers and pupils from 
possible excesses or mistakes. f 

In the interests of health, there should be a liberal 
allowance of time provided in the course of studies 
for physical and manual exercises ^ and for instruc- 
tion in physiology and hygiene. The amount to be 
done in these subjects and the place in the pro- 
gramme they should take will be referred to later. 

The course of studies of the larger cities should 
make provision for all defective or weak-minded 
children that are not provided for by the state^ 
giving the utmost freedom and opportunity to 
teachers of small classes to adapt the work to the 
needs and capacity of individual pupils. Of this 

* The reasons for limiting the formal work of the first 
year in school and a detailed plan of exercises for that year 
are given in the sixty-second annual report of the Massa- 
chusetts Board of Education, pp. 409-413. 

t Matters of grading and promotions of pupils are dis- 
cussed in the sixty-first report of the Massachusetts Board 
of Education, pp. 297-314; also in (13, pp. 303-356). 

t For a careful estimate of the proper proportion of time 
which should be given to drawing, manual training and sing- 
ing, see pp. 457-479 of the sixtieth report of the Massa- 
chusetts Board of Education. 



School Hygiene 329 

class of children Dr. Lincoln (16, p. 83) writes : ''Out- 
side of the class returned in statistics as feeble- 
minded, there exists a much larger class (perhaps five 
in a thousand) of 'backward' children, a type with 
which all primary teachers are familiar, who are so 
deficient as to be incapable of profiting by ordinary 
school methods. They constitute a distinct type, 
differing from the grosser types only in degree of 
defect; they display all the cardinal features of 
imbecility in a lesser degree. Few classes are with- 
out some specimen, hopeless under existing condi- 
tions, yet fondled and defended by parental love, 
which can see no inferiority in its own offspring. A Special classes 

movement for the education of these children in for weak mind- 

•11 J 4--J- i. x> -.ed children, 

special classes under trained inspectors has just 

begun in the United States, which up to the present 
includes the cities of Providence, Worcester, Spring- 
field, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago." 

The children here referred to belong to what has 
been called the "abnormally deficient" class,— a 
class separate and distinct from the class consisting gpecial treat- 
of merely dull children of normal type. These chil- ment of dull 
dren should also have special provision made for children, 
them, not only on account of the better progress they 
will make in their studies, but also on account of the 
desirability of preventing tendencies to moral and 
physical degeneracy. In many places, at present, 
small ungraded classes are formed for the benefit 
of children who are slow, or who for other reasons 
need individual attention. Such classes generally 
consist of not more than twenty pupils, and the work 
done is mainly with individual pupils. Transfers 
are constantly made to and from the class, as occa- 
sion demands. 

Daily Programme and Instruction. — There is a feel- 



330 Appendix F 

ing abroad, occasionally expressed by physicians and 
newspaper writers, that there is ''over-pressure" in 
the schools to such an extent that many children are 
falling by the way and made invalids for life. There 
Opinions re- is another feeling abroad, expressed quite frequently 
lating to "over- ]yy opponents of the ''new education," that teachers 
pressure . ^^^ doing too much for their pupils, and are thereby 

helping to create a race of degenerates,— "soft 
pedagogics" is the term sometimes given to desig- 
nate the process. 

Widely divergent as are these criticisms of present 
practice in the schools, there is perhaps enough truth 
in both charges to put teachers on their guard in 
respect to the demands they make upon their pupils 
Viewing the matter solely from the standpoint of 
Hard intellect- health, we may agree that hard intellectual work of 

ual work no in- fj^^ right kind, done within proper limits of time, can 
iury 

in no way be injurious to children. It must be as 

healthful for them to exercise the brain actively as it 
is for them to exercise the legs actively. It is not 
hard work that is harmful or repugnant to the 
normal child so much as work which is not suited to 
his needs and powers. 

Of course a discrimination must be made between 
the natural tendencies of the child and those tenden- 
cies which have been imposed upon him. The 
former may lead and point the way of the best train- 
ing, while the latter may indicate the course to be 
resisted. 
The problem— What is needed for health 's sake is not necessarily 

not less work ^^ lessen the work of children, but to lead them to 

hut less 

fatiffue work in such a way and at such times that the largest 

results in mental strength and alertness will be 

gained with the least fatigue. This is not done by 

carrying on the same subject or kind of work too 



School Hygiene 331 

long at a time, or by giving work that is uninterest- 
ing. The duration of effort is not always the meas- 
ure of fatigue attending it, and neither time nor 
fatigue necessarily determines the amount or inten- 
sity of effort exerted. There is some study which 
cheers and invigorates, while there is other study 
which palls upon the mind and wearies it to the point 
of stagnation. No one will say that the former 
study, although alert and active, is nearly as harmful 
physically as the latter. The two states of mind Interest and 

needed for the physical as well as for the mental freshness 

ni" n -I • , j_ ij?i ii necessary to 

well-bemg oi pupils are interest and ireshness ; the , \^ 

former depending largely upon the subject and the 
way it is presented, and the latter upon the times 
in which the recitation or study is carried on. 

One means of determining the proper place and 
and order of recitations in the day's programme is 
the condition of the pupils in respect to fatigue. 
While work of any kind must be accompanied by 
fatigue, and while fatigue in itself is not harmful 
(17, p. 144), it becomes harmful when long-continued Fatigue harm- 
or heavy demands are made upon the mind which f^^ when long 
lead to exhaustion and disease. Both experience 
and fatigue studies have shown that the branches of 
study which most tax the mind should be given in 
the early part of the day, while the children's minds 
are rested, and that those which make the least de- 
mands should be given later. The subjects upon 
good authority which are most fatiguing are mathe- 
matics and foreign languages, and those which are 
least fatiguing are singing and drawing (18, p. 81). 
If the school day of five hours is divided into two 
sessions, it would seem best to have a three-hour 
session in the forenoon, occupied by recitations and 
study that are most taxing to the pupils ; and a two- 



continued. 



332 



Appendix F 



A liberal al- 
lowance for 
intermissions. 



hour session in the afternoon, occupied by singing 
games and manual exercises. What has been said 
of the desirability of placing the most taxing recita- 
tions early in the day will apply to written examina- 
tions which have been found to be very fatiguing.* 

hiterynissio^is.—'Resnlts of investigations have 
shown that the time of the short recess and even 
that of the long noon intermission is not long enough 
fully to rest the pupils ; that is, at the beginning of 
the period after the intermission the available 
strength for mental work is not as great as at the 
beginning of the morning session. The extended 
scientific observations of Burgerstein in Germany 
(12, p. 237) and of Key in Sweden (1, p. 227) all go 
to prove that a liberal allowance should be made for 
intermissions during the school day, — an allowance 
even greater than is made in Germany,t and far 
greater than is made in any of our American schools. 
Thus Kraeplin (1, p. 194) says that recesses should 
be longer than they generally are, and should follow 
one another at shorter intervals; and Kotelmann 
(1, p. 195) approves the programme proposed by 
Hakonson-Hansens, in which, in a six-hour school 
day, from 8 A. M. to 2 P. M., there are six intermis- 
sions, — five of ten minutes each and one of twenty 
minutes. 

These recommendations, based upon the most 



* Dr. Newsholme and others (28, p. 66) would diminish 
fatigue by change of subjects; alternating language or history 
with mathematics, and mentally fatiguing subjects with pen- 
manship or manual training. 

t In Prussian secondary schools the total time given to 
intermissions daily must be not less than forty and not more 
than forty-five minutes. In Bavaria the same class of schools 
are obliged to have a recess of ten minutes every hour. 



School Hygiene 333 

careful investigations and the most universal prac- 
tice of German schools, may well lead us to question 
the wisdom of our school authorities in limiting the 
time of recesses as much as they do. Especially 
should they attract the attention of those who are 
inclined to abolish the recess altogether, or to sub- 
stitute gymnastic exercises for the games of the old- 
fashioned recess. More will be said upon the sub- 
ject, when the general hygienic treatment of pupils 
is discussed. 

School Sessions. — As to the desirability of having Arguments for 

two school sessions or one in the day, there is, as ^"^ against the 

XI n 1- T£e £ ■ ' £ j-r. single session. 

there well may be, a diiierence oi opmion, tor there ^ 

are good reasons as well as objections that may be 

urged upon either side of the question. 

The arguments usually given in favor of the single 
session are: (1) the shortness of the days in winter, 
and consequent limited period of daylight; (2) the 
saving of an extra walk to and from school; (3) the 
greater opportunity for needed recreation in the way 
of games, excursions, etc. 

The arguments opposed to the single session and 
in favor of the double one are: (1) There is less 
danger from over-exhaustion, when there is an entire 
break of one or two hours in the work of the day, 
than when the work is continuous or when it is in- 
terrupted by only a recess of twenty or thirty min- 
utes; (2) there is more likelihood of a good breakfast 
and dinner being eaten under the two-session plan 
than under the one. 

If the above-named arguments fairly represent all 
that can be said upon both sides, it will be admitted 
that for hygienic reasons the two sessions should be 
preferred. This, however, does not in any way 
imply that the single session may not be so managed 



334 



Appendix F 



Periods of 
study and 
recitation. 



Requirements 
of home study 
in Germany. 



as to conform thoroughly to the best hygienic rules ; 
as, for instance, if pauses of ten minutes are given 
for recreation at the close of every recitation and 
study period, and if hot soup or some other nutriti- 
ous food is supplied the pupils in a half-hour inter- 
mission. 

Length of Fecitation.— There is substantial agree- 
ment among specialists as to the proper length of 
the recitation and study period. This agreement is 
summarized in the following statement, made by Dr. 
Rowe (18, p. 167) : ''The longest period which a 
child of 5 to 7 years should be expected to have for 
a given exercise should not exceed 15 minutes. For 
a child of 7 to 10 years, it should not exceed 20 
minutes ; for a child from 10 to 12, not over 25 ; and 
from 12 to 16, not more than 30. These figures have 
been approved both by experiment and experience.. 
They are maxima for all confining exercises." 

Amount of Work required of Pupils. — Europeani 
and American standards of what should be required 
of pupils differ considerably both in theory and in 
practice. Dr. Kotelmann points out (1, p. 212) that 
in the Prussian and Bavarian secondary schools from 
6 to 12 hours a week of home study is required from 
pupils of the lower classes, and from 12 to 18 hours 
of such study from pupils of the upper classes. 
Some of the secondary schools of other parts of 
Germany make even more severe requirements than 
these. The requirements of the people's schools 
are doubtless less than are those of the secondary 
schools ; but it is safe to assume that the older pupils 
of the former schools have not less than 12 hours of 
home work weekly. 

When it is considered that the number of hours a 
week in which the schools are in session in January 



School Hygiene 335 

is at least 20% more than our schools require, we 
can appreciate the enormous pressure that is put 
upon the pupils there. The specialists in hygiene 
recommend that the requirements of home study 
be lessened, as is shown by the following tables, the 
first being the recommendations of the expert com- 
mission for the secondary schools of Elsass-Lothrin- 
gen (1, p. 213), and the second recommendations 
of Dr. Key, as quoted by Dr. Burgerstein (12, p. 
289) : 

Table I. — Showing the maximum Iwurs per week recommended for 
school instruction and home study hy the expert commission for 
the secondary schools of Elsass-Lothringen. 

School instruction. 

AGE. Class. Home 

Studies. Singing. Gymnastics. Total, work. 
2 4 5 6 

7.8 IX., VIII. 18 - 21— 21J 

2 2 2 2 

2 4 5 

9 VII. 20 - 23— 23i 5—6 

2 2 2 

10,11 VI., V. 24 2 2 — 3 28—29 8 

12, 13, 14, IV., III. 26 2 2 30 12 

15,16,17,18... II., I. 30 2 2 34 12—18 

Table II. — Showing the number of hours per week recommended 
hy Dr. Key for school instruction and home study. 

"whole number of 

hours' work required number of number of 

age weekly. including hours weekly hours of 

singing and gymnastics required for home study 

In the 
school and In the school 

home. alone. Singing. Gymnastics Weekly Daily 

7 12—18 12—18 12 - - 

8 18—24 15—21 12 3 i 

9 24—30 18—24 13 6 1 

10, 11... 36 29 2 3 7 \\ 

12, 13... 42 32 2 3 10 If 

14 48 35 2 3 13 2\ 

15, 16... 51 35 2 3 16 2f 

17, 18... 54 35 2 3 19 3i 

American practice varies greatly, but it is doubtful 
if the requirements of any school are as great as 
those recommended above. Practice in the best 
schools at present seems to favor a short divided 



336 Appendix F 

period of 3 hours' attendance for the younger pupils, 

Requirements and an attendance of 5 or 5% hours for the older 

of school at- pupils. This amount of time spent in school, with 
tendance in ,, -, i, • xt_ 

a well-arranged programme, havmg the proper num- 

.xi-UicriC'Ct. 

ber of manual and physical exercises and recesses, 

ought not to be harmful to any well child. 

But the proper length of a school day cannot be 

considered apart from the requirements of home 

The maximum study. The time given above ought to be all the 

amount of time needed for study by pupils below the 7th 

home study in g^ade, upon the assumption that children are ad- 
all firrades 

mitted to school at 5 years of age, and that there are 

9 grades below the high school. The maximum 
amount of home study for pupils of the 7th grade 
might be half an hour daily, and for pupils of the 
8th and 9th grades from one hour to one and one- 
half hours daily. For pupils of the high school the 
maximum amount of home study daily might be ex- 
tended to two and three hours. 

These figures are given upon the assumption that 
no study of any kind shall be required or permitted 
at recess or after school. 

The following table embodies the suggestions 
which I have made as to a proper amount of school 
and home study. It will be seen that the require- 
ments are far less severe than those recommended 
by Dr. Key, but it is believed that they more nearly 
fit American conditions than his do. 



School Hygiene 337 

School and home study. 

NUMBER OF HOURS WEEKLY GIVEN TO 

Recitation 
• School and Study in Study at Home 

GRADE OR Attendance Recesses school (not 



YEAR 


(including 


and Singing including 


Min. 


Max 


IN SCHOOL 


recesses) 


gymnastics 


gymnastics 
and singing 






1 


15 


2 ] 


L 11* 


— 


— 


2 


20 


2 1 


L 15* 


— 


- 


3 


27i 


2* ] 


L 22 


— 


— 


4 


27* 


2* ] 


L 22 


— 


- 


5 


27* 


2* ] 


L 22 


— 


- 


6 


27* 


2* ] 


L 22 


— 


- 


7 


27* 


2* 1 


L 22 


U 


2* 


8 


27* 


2* ] 


L 22 


2* 


5 


9 


27* 


2* 1 


L 22 


5 


7* 


10 


25 


2 ] 


L 20 


7* 


10 


11 


25 


2 1 


L 20 


10 


12* 


12 


25 


2 ] 


L 20 


10 


15 


13 


25 


2 ] 


L 20 


10 


15 



tions. 



The recommendations contained in the above The require- 
table are made with confidence, since they agree with ments to meet 
the practice of the most carefully managed American ^^^^^^^ ^^^ 
schools. Of course, it is understood that the amount 
of time indicated for home study is intended only 
for those pupils who are well. The time given is 
subject to change for those who for any reason can- 
not do the full work of the school without impair- 
ment of health. If children have to practise upon 
the piano one or two hours daily, or if by fulfillment 
of social functions they are unable to meet all the 
requirements of the school, they should stand pre- 
cisely where the weak-bodied pupils do in relation 
to the school. Neither class is to blame for the 
obstructing conditions, and neither class should be 
made to suffer by too great exactions. But it should 
be understood that under such circumstances the 
work of a class or year is incomplete, and must be 
made up before full credit is given. 

In one respect the recommendations of require- 
ments above given differ from the requirements 
usually made, and that is in reference to the amount 
of home study. Two standards are set, one for the 



338 



Appendix F 



Minimum and 
maximum re- 
quirements to 
be made. 



least amount of time which should be spent in study, 
and one for the greatest amount of time so spent. 
These separate standards of requirements are fixed 
in the belief that the bodily as well as the intellect- 
ual welfare of the pupils is enhanced by an accom- 
modation of demands to ability. 

The ordinary practice is to state one period of 
time for home study, which is supposed to be the 
time suited to the "average pupil." The result is 
that some of the pupils far exceed the amount 
named, while others stop far short of it. Both 
classes of pupils may be injured, one from doing too 
much and the other from doing too little. The plac- 
ing of a minimum for home study means that the 
bright pupils must not be deprived of the advantage 
of a certain amount of strenuous effort. The maxi- 
mum limit is placed for the benefit of that class of 
pupils — generally girls — who conscientiously do 
more than is required of them, and who, for the sake 
of their health, need the restraint of a fixed standard 
of time for study, beyond which they shall not be 
permitted to go. 



Outside Conditions 

In tracing the causes of ill health among school 
children, no one will deny that there are likely to be 
some causes for which the school authorities ought 
Private lessons not to be held responsible. When we consider the 
and social close connection between one's state of health and 

diversions. one's habits in respect to eating and sleeping, and 

when, further, we consider the extent of control 
which the parents have or ought to have over their 
children in these respects, we cannot leave the in- 
fluences of the home out of consideration in any 
treatment of the health of school children. 



School Hygiene 339 * 

This consideration is all the more imperative on 
account of the fact that the school must take the 
child as it finds him, and must in the interests of 
the child conform to all the conditions imposed upon 
him from without. If his strength is given largely 
to private lessons or social diversions, or if his 
system is weakened by insufficient sleep or nourish- 
ment, there must be a certain degree of conformity 
of opportunity and demands to his impaired powers. 
The conditions cannot be fully met by the teacher 
without a knowledge of the child 's impaired abilities 
and the occasions of them. A wise conformity to 
conditions means more than a mere acceptance of 
them and adaptation of the school programme to 
fit them; it involves an effort on the part of the 
teacher to remedy as far as possible the faults which 
obstruct the work of the school. 

The causes of physical and mental weakness for Causes of phy- 
which parents and pupils are responsible have sical and ment- 
already been hinted at. They are want of attention ^^ weakness, 
to diet and sleep, social diversions, uncleanliness 
and other bad personal habits. It is vain to suppose 
that these obstructive conditions can be fully con- 
trolled by the teacher, or even appreciably so, in a 
large number of cases. It is hoped, however, that 
every teacher will make an effort to urge upon 
parents and pupils alike the importance (1) of a 
large amount of restful sleep every night,* (2) of a 

* Dr. Key, who has given much attention to the subject, 
says that children from seven to nine years of age need eleven 
hours of sleep daily, that children from ten to thirteen years 
of age need ten or eleven hours, and that children beyond this 
age up to eighteen need from eight and one-half to nine and 
one-half hours (12, p. 289). He found in his investigations 
in Stockholm that those pupils who had an insufficient amount 



34:0 Appendix F 

sufficient diet of nutritious food taken at proper 
times,t (3) of abundant recreations that will in- 
vigorate and refresh both body and mind, (4) of a 
careful attention to cleanliness by frequently brush- 
ing the teeth and bathing the body, and (5) of pure 
personal habits which will in no way injure the body 
or debase the mind. 
Bad personal To be successful in checking the evils of bad 

habits among personal habits among boys, such as the use of 
^^^' tobacco and secret vice, demands the utmost efforts 

of teachers, who first of all must realize their prev- 
alence and the enormous injury done by them to 
the body and mind. While the chief reliance for 
success must be made upon constructive lines, such 
as giving the pupils instruction in physiology, and 

of sleep had from five to eight per cent, more sickness than 
their schooknates who had sufficient sleep. Dr. Dukes (23, 
p. 124) would allow the following number of hours per night 
for sleep: children five years of age, thirteen and one-half; 
six, thirteen; seven, twelve and one-half; eight, twelve; nine, 
eleven and one-half; ten, eleven; eleven, ten and one-half; 
twelve and thirteen, ten; fourteen, nine and one-half; fifteen 
and sixteen, nine; from seventeen to nineteen, eight and one- 
half. 

t The attention of parents and pupils should be especially 
called to the importance of eating a substantial breakfast, 
and of taking plenty of time for it. This advice is par- 
ticularly needed for pupils of high schools, who frequently are 
found attending a five-hour school session after a hasty and 
insufficient breakfast. School luncheons should also be made 
a subject of careful attention. In many places food of a 
very nutritious kind and at little cost is provided at recess by 
the school authorities or by some one authorized by them. 
Dr. Newsholme (28, p. 96) recommends the giving of penny 
dinners, such as are given in some of the London Board 
Schools. He also recommends giving to each child in the 
poorer districts a mug of milk and slice of bread before the 
morning's work begins. 



School Hygiene 341 

leading them into good habits of industry, the pre- 
ventive and personal means must not be neglected, 
in which courage and tact will be required. For 
the fullest success in many cases, the co-operation of 
parents will be needed. 

Dr. Burgerstein (21, p. 257) urges the great need Instruction for 
of a systematic effort to spread hygienic knowledge ^^® people in 
among the people. The means recommended are ^ 
as follows : distribution of brief tracts, courses in 
normal schools and secondary schools, university 
extension lectures, associations, popular lectures, 
reading rooms, portable exhibits. 

Some superintendents have found it useful to send 
to parents at the beginning of the year a printed 
letter or circular, giving a few suggestions relating 
to the habits and health of the children. An example A circular let- 
of what is needful for parents to know is shown in *^^ *^ parents 
the following letter, prepared by Dr. Wm. H. Max- |!^^?fjf°^^f 
well, and sent to the parents of all the pupils in habits of 
Brooklyn when he was superintendent of the schools children, 
of that city. It follows, in the same circular, a letter 
addressed to teachers respecting the requirements 
they should make of the pupils. 

To Parents 
1. The health of your children is paramount to 
every other consideration. When children, par- 
ticularly girls, between the ages of ten and seven- 
teen, exhibit evidence of nervous disorder, such as 
twitching of the face and hands, or extreme irrita- 
bility, it is a sure sign either that the school work is 
too severe, or that they are not living under proper 
hygienic conditions, or both. In all such cases 
school work should be either materially lessened or 
be intermitted until there is a restoration to health. 



342 • Appendix F 

2. In the majority of eases, to conquer the diffi- 
culties of arithmetic and grammar or the intricacies 
of a new language is harder work for the child than 
are, for the business or professional man, his every- 
day avocations. Hence, children need constant care, 
sympathy and encouragement. 

3. Children should spend not less than two hours 
every day in the open air, and, if possible, should 
engage in games requiring both skill and activity. 

4. Children should spend at least twenty minutes 
every day in practising at home the gymnastic ex- 
ercises they learn at school. 

5. Children should not be permitted to attend 
social parties or public meetings or entertainments 
on evenings preceding school days. 

6. Children should spend in sleep not less than 
nine, and, if possible, ten, hours out of every twenty- 
four. 

7. The following practices should be prohibited, 
as being injurious to health : study before partaking 
of food in the morning ; the rapid reading of lessons 
just before the beginning of a school session ; study 
during the noon intermission ; study immediately 
after the close of school, before mind and body have 
been rested by play or other suitable change of 
occupation ; study immediately after eating a hearty 
meal. 

8. When children study or read either by sunlight 
or by artificial light, care should be taken that the 
light is sufficient, and that it falls upon the page 
from the left. 

9. Children should have fixed hours for study, 
never exceeding the time specified in the rule of the 
board of education, and nothing should be per- 
mitted to interfere with these hours of study. 



School Hygiene 343 

10. When parents find that their children, after 
conscientious effort, cannot accomplish the work 
assigned by the teacher in the time specified in the 
rule, they should at once communicate the fact to 
the principal of the school, and ask diminution of 
the tasks assigned. 

11. Parents should never urge children to make 
extra efforts to obtain promotion, nor show annoy- 
ance if they fail to obtain promotion. What chil- 
dren need for intellectual and moral progress is 
systematic, not spasmodic, work. If, for any good 
reason, a child is not promoted or graduated at the 
end of term, he should not be reprimanded, but 
encouraged to try again. Nor should parents, by 
finding fault with the teacher, weaken her influence 
for good. 

12. Cigarette smoking by growing boys is danger- 
ous alike to the physical, the intellectual and the 
moral well-being. Parents cannot be too vigilant 
in preventing their sons, who have not yet reached 
maturity, from using tobacco in any form, and 
particularly in that of the cigarette. 

Inspection and Supervision 
In what has been said thus far it has been 
assumed that all the circumstances relating to the 
health of pupils should be known by the school Professional 
officials, and that no adverse conditions be allowed ^^yice and 
to exist. The hygienic conditions of the school re- 
late, as we have seen, to the location, construction 
and plan of buildings, school equipment, and the 
composition and adjustment of the school pro- 
gramme. The effects of adverse conditions must 
also be recognized before they can be properly pre- 
vented or treated. It is hardly supposable that all 



344: 



Appendix F 



Medical in- 
spection of 
schools. 



Plan of medical 
inspection in 
Boston. 



these circumstances and the means of correction can 
be fully known and understood by the teachers in 
charge. It is desirable, therefore, that they shall 
have such professional assistance or advice as will 
enable them to correct existing faults and to prevent 
disease and contagion. 

The circumstances concerning which advice and 
assistance will be most needed are those relating to 
the ventilation and lighting of the schoolroom, the 
desks and seats, the amount and kind of mental 
exercises needed to keep the pupils in good physical 
health, the detection of incipient forms of disease, 
and the method of treating each pupil not in a 
normal condition of body or mind. 

The most apparent need of advice is in the detec- 
tion of the first stages of contagious diseases, such 
as diphtheria, scarlet-fever and measles. The laws 
of Massachusetts provide for the careful exclusion 
of all pupils from school who are sick with or who 
have been exposed to infectious diseases;* but a 
careful observance of this law cannot prevent the 
spread of disease which appears in such incipient 
form as to escape the detection of parents and 
teachers. What is needed, for the sake of the com- 
'munity as well as of the persons afflicted, is some 
form of inspection which will keep from the school 
all pupils from whom there is any danger of con- 
tagion. *' 

This is accomplished to a very satisfactory degree 
in so-called medical inspection, which is carried on 
in New York, Boston, Cambridge and several other 
American cities. 

The plan which has been followed in Boston for 
the past six years is as follows: By a special 

* Chapter 496, section 11, Acts of 1898. 



School Hygiene 345 

arrangement with the school committee, inspectors 
are appointed by the board of health to visit each 
day all the schools soon after the opening of the 
morning session. If any of the children appear not 
well, they are examined by the inspector; and if he 
finds any child with symptoms of an infectious dis- 
ease he exercises his authority as agent of the board 
of health and orders the child to be sent home. He 
at once reports the case to the board of health, and 
follows it up, seeing to it that the child is either 
properly isolated or sent to the hospital. Later, he 
makes another visit, to see if all danger of infection 
has ceased. 

If. a child is found to be ill, but without symp- 
toms of an infectious disease, "the teacher is ad- 
vised to send the child home, with a message, written 
or oral, as may seem best, stating what the trouble 
may be, and suggesting, if medical care seems to be 
needed, that the family physician be called.'* 
Further particulars and results of the plan are given 
in Superintendent Seaver's report for March, 1900, 
(19, p. 38),* 

It is entirely feasible for any city or town to 
follow the plan above indicated. Some idea of the 
cost will be gained from the following statement of 
Dr. Durgin, chairman of the Boston board of health 
(21, p. 1500): ''The board of health divided the 
city into 50 districts, giving an average of about 4 
schoolhouses and 1,400 pupils to each district. No 
difficulty was experienced in finding well-qualified 

* Plans of general medical inspection are contained in the 
report of the board of school visitors, Hartford, Conn., March 
31, 1900; also in (5, p. 17; 9, p. 54; 21, p. 1489). The last- 
named reference has accounts of inspection plans and results 
in Massachusetts, New York, Philadelphia, Berlin and Paris, 



346 



Appendix F 



Medical in- 
spection of 
schools in New 
Jersey. 



Inspection of 
sight and hear- 
ing. 



and discreet physicians who would undertake the 
duties prescribed, and the board secured and ap- 
pointed one physician for each district, with a 
salary of $200 a year." 

The laws of the State of New Jersey (chapter 96, 
article XXX., of the laws of 1900) provide that any 
local board of education may emploj^ a competent 
physician, who shall visit the schools at stated times 
and examine pupils referred to him by the teachers, 
and, "at least once during each school year examine 
every pupil, to learn whether any physical defect 
exists, and keep a record from year to year of the 
growth and development of such pupil, which record 
shall be the property of the board of education, and 
shall be delivered by said medical inspector to his 
successor in office." The law further provides that 
he ''shall lecture before the teachers at such times 
as may be designated by the board of education, in- 
structing them concerning the methods employed to 
detect the first signs of communicable disease, and 
the recognized measures for the promotion of health 
and prevention of disease." 

The above law provides for one form of medical 
inspection which has been adopted with success in 
several cities and towns, and that is inspection of the 
sight and hearing of pupils. As would be ex- 
pected, the results of investigations differ as to the 
percentage of pupils having defective sight and hear- 
ing, depending upon the age of pupils, conditions 
under which pupils have used their eyes, and the 
character of the examination; but all the tests that 
have been made thus far reveal the fact that the eyes 
of from 10% to 45% of the pupils of the schools are 
defective and that a good proportion of those who 
have defective eyes need special treatment. 



School Hygiene 347 

The cases of defective hearing are less common 
than the cases of defective sight but they are found 
sufficient in number to warrant a careful inspection 
in every school. 

The following results of investigations indicate Results of in- 
the extent to which defective sight and hearing have vestigations. 
been found under various conditions and show 
clearly the urgent need of systematic and general 
inspection. The difference of results is due in part 
to the difference of defects reported, some of the 
reports indicating serious defects only. 
Passaic, N. J.— 538 children out of 1,630 examined 

are reported as having defective vision. 
Lowell, Mass.— The sight of 45% of 300 children 
examined is reported as being defective, "a little 
less than two-thirds of the defects being serious 
enough to need correction." In another examina- 
tion of 524 pupils 165 or 31% were found to have 
defective vision. The number of these who were 
recommended to have medical treatment was 137 
or 26% of the whole number. In still another test 
2,081 pupils of the grammar and upper primary 
grades were examined and 44% of them were 
found to have defective sight, 27% of them need- 
ing special treatment. 
Chicago, III.— From 32% to 41% of 4,765 pupils ex- 
amined are reported as having defective sight, 
from 7% to 16% of the whole number being re- 
garded as serious. In another investigation in 
the same city 6,729 pupils were examined with the 
following results : Defective in one or both ears, 
1,080 or 16% ; defective in both ears, 437 or 6.6%. 
Cleveland, Ohio. — Whole number of pupils ex- 
amined in 1900-1901, 32,939. Number with de- 
fects of special senses 6,169, of whom 359 are 



348 Appendix F 

reported as defective in hearing. In another ex- 
amination the following year the sight and hearing 
of 17,017 pupils were tested with the following 
results: Number of pupils with defects of special 
senses 5,806, of whom 342 are reported as defect- 
ive in hearing. 

Milton, Mass.— Out of 709 children examined 195, 
or a little less than one-third of the whole num- 
ber, were recommended for further examination 
for glasses. 

Wellesley, Mass.— Number of pupils examined 685, 
of whom 23% are reported as needing treatment 
on account of defective vision. In this examina- 
tion only 30% of the children were found to have 
normal sight and 89% of them with normal hear- 
ing in both ears. 

Everett, Mass. — Of 2,345 pupils examined 1,167 are 
reported as having perfect vision in both eyes. 
Of the others 539 were advised to consult an oc- 
ulist. 

Brooklyn, N. Y. — Number of pupils examined, 
50,000. Of these 28% were found to be deficient 
in eyesight and 10% in hearing. 

Some of the above reported tests were made by 
specialists, some by teachers under the direction of 
a specialist and some by teachers with no directions 
other than those that were given with the Snellen 
test cards. Of course the tests made by or under 
the direction of an expert oculist are more accurate 
than those which are made without special super- 
vision, but for the purpose of ascertaining defective 
sight and hearing and of reporting for treatment 
the more serious cases, the tests made by teachers 
are quite satisfactory. 



School Hygiene 349 

The ''instructions for examination" accompany- How tests may 
inff the Snellen test cards obtainable from publishers ^^ ^^^^ ^y 
and oculists are sufficiently full to enable the teacher 
to designate those whose sight is but slightly 
affected and also those whose eyes are so seriously 
affected that they need to consult an oculist. 

Teachers can also detect defective hearing so far 
at least as to know what pupils need professional 
treatment. The rule sometimes is for the pupil to 
stand 20 feet away from the examiner and to pro- 
nounce the word or words given by the examiner 
either in a whisper or in an ordinary conversational 
tone of voice. Some prefer to make the tick of a 
watch the test of hearing, the watch being four feet 
away. 

One kind of investigation made by the physical Investigation 

training committee of the Brookline, Mass., Educa- ^^ *^® physical 

^ . , . « . condition of 

tion Society deserves attention, on account oi its ^^^ pupils in 

unique character and the practical results it prom- Brookline, 

ises. The investigation was of the physical condi- Mass. 

tion of the children and the hygiene of the class 

rooms, and was carried on with the assistance of the 

teachers and medical inspectors. The questions 

asked were in relation to the pupils' nutrition and 

condition of spine, and the ventilation, lighting, and 

temperature of the schoolrooms. 

The results of the physical examination were as 
follows (22, p. 22) : Out of 2,594 children, the nutri- 
tion was considered to be excellent in 1,603, or 62% ; 
good in 605, or 24% ; fair in 262, or 10% ; poor in 
104, or 4%. 

In the same number the following deformities 
were observed : of the spine, 4 ; of the chest, 7 ; of 
the extremities, 9 ; of the head, 4. 

A more individualized physical examination was 



350 



Appendix F 



made by the same committee through the co-opera- 
tion of some physicians. Sixty-one boys were ex- 
amined, with the following results, in part (22, p. 
23) : Percentage of pupils having poor preservation 
of teeth, 29.5 ; abnormal condition of throat, 54.1 ; 
abnormal condition of heart, 24.6 ; abnormal de- 
velopment of chest, 16.4. 

As one result of the investigation, the committee 
strongly recommended that certain vacant land be 
left an open space for a playground for the children 
of the neighborhood. 



course. 



Instruction 

Instruction in From the beginning of the course to the end of it, 
hygiene careful and systematic instruction in hygiene should 

throughout the |^^ given, first independent of anatomy and physi- 
ology, and later in close connection with those sub- 
jects. 

It is not the place here to suggest methods of in- 
struction, and yet it may be proper to state that 
instruction in hygiene will be effective only as it 
is made concrete and applicable to everyday ex- 
perience. Pupils may be told or they may read 
from the book all the rules of hygiene, and after- 
wards be able to repeat them, and yet not be able 
to see their application so far as their own lives are 
concerned. If they do not see this clearly, and do 
not know the reasons why the laws of health should 
be obeyed, they may as well remain in ignorance.. 
For example, in the higher grades of the grammar 
school and in the high school pupils should be led 
not merely to learn the fact that rapid eating is 
harmful, but to know why it is harmful ; not merely 
to say that pure air is necessary to health, but to 
ascertain from measurements whether their own bed- 



Instruction to 
be practical. 



School Hygiene 351 

rooms or schoolrooms are sufficiently supplied with 
it. 

There is not a fact of hygiene connected with 
school conditions or home conditions which might 
not be profitably worked out by the pupils them- 
selves. If this practice of applying in our teaching 
to everyday life the principles of hygiene were uni- 
versal, there would be in time less reluctance on the 
part of school authorities to provide all the means 
possible to insure conditions of health, and parents 
would not be so willing as many now are to defy all 
the principles of dietary science. 

Speaking of the ignorance of parents respecting 
food, Mrs. Richards says (25, p. 17) : ''To my mind, 
there is but one efficient remedy for this gross 
ignorance and misapprehension of the office of food, 
and that is, to have the science of food taught in Ti^e science''of 
all our public schools. Make the simple, fundamen- food to be ^"^ 
tal, well-known principles of diet a part of the taught, 
natural science training in the school, add interest 
and point to the teaching by classes in cooking, not 
for the sake of the dishes prepared, although they 
should be well done, but for the sake of the illustra- 
tions they give of the principles taught." 

General Hygienic Treatment 
Having considered the dangers to health to which 
pupils in school are exposed, we ought next to 
ascertain exactly what teachers can do to avoid those 
dangers, and to correct faults which already exist. 
The first means which suggests itself is physical 
training. The use of 

The chief direct ends of physical training are gynanastie ex- 
health and symmetry of body and grace of bodily ^heir limita- 
movements. That these ends are promoted to any tions. 



352 Appendix F 

degree by the prevailing gymnastic practice in the 
schools is seriously questioned by many people. 
There are doubtless gained by the exercises a certain 
degree of muscular strength and increased circula- 
tion of the blood ; but these are not the only nor are 
they the chief conditions of health most needed for 
our pupils. 

What they most need is recuperation or rest from 
mental fatigue, and this, it is believed, is not gained 
by the tenseness of mind required in sharply follow- 
ing the orders of a leader in gymnastics. Teachers, 
in response to the question as to whether they or 
the pupils are rested by such exercises, almost in- 
variably answer in the negative ; and yet they have 
grown in favor to such an extent in some places as 
to constitute the only exercise which the pupils are 
permitted to have. 
Dissatisfaction The growing doubt as to their use as a means of 
with prevailing promoting health is shown by the changed character 
methods. of the exercises recommended by directors of 

. gymnasiums. The dissatisfaction with prevailing 
methods is voiced in the following statement,, 
recently made by a prominent director of physical 
culture in one of our state normal schools respecting 
the system in common use: ''I believe the classifica- 
X tion of exercises in this system to be the most 
scientific and effective, but I want to protest most 
earnestly against their application, as so often seen, 
by which such exercises are a dose of repulsive 
medicine, instead of the natural, voluntary, joyous 
response of the child." In other words, the rec- 
reative elements of exercise are wanting in many of 
the gymnastic exercises. 

These elements, it is believed, may be supplied in 
part by a more intelligent application of the prin- 



School Hygiene 353 

ciples underlying the best systems of gymnastics, 
and in part by substituting for many of the gym- 
nastic exercises recreative games and plays, in which Recreative 

the response of the children is ''natural, voluntary games and 

,. ,,rw, <.n,iT«i 1 plays needed, 

and joyous. To meet successfully the desired ends, 

the games should be such as to enable all the pupils 
to join in them voluntarily. They should give 
abundant opportunity for free, joyous and fre- 
quently emulative action. They may be educational 
in character, or such as will exercise the pupils' 
powers of observation, imitation, memory and judg- 
ment. 

To accomplish the best results, it will be necessary 
for the teacher to direct and oversee the games,* 
and, if she is sympathetic enough, to participate in 
them. The games will afford the best opportunity 
for profitable child study, and for creating in the 
teacher sympathy with and interest in the children. 

It is a cheering sign that in many places the recess, 
so long abandoned, is being restored, to be spent, not The recess 
as formerly in rough-and-tumble sports or in aimless being restored, 
idleness, but in well-directed, joyous exercise, which 
sends the children back to their studies refreshed 
and ready for work. 

The following carefully selected list of gamesf 

* Miss Brown, of the Washington, D. C, Normal School 
(10, p. 631), recommends dividing the class into two or three 
sections, thus freeing the children from apparent direction by 
the teacher, and giving her an opportunity to do individual 
work. 

t They are selected from the list of games given and describ- 
ed by Superintendent G. E. Johnson in Vol. III. of the Peda- 
gogical Seminary and from "One Hundred Gymnastic Games" 
prepared by ten members of the alumni of the Boston Normal 
School of Gymnastics. These are very valuable contributions 
to educational literature, and should be within reach of every 
teacher. 



354 



Appendix F 



A list of good 
games recom- 
mended. 



will suggest what may be played by children of 
different ages. Some of them, as will be seen, are 
appropriate for the school yard alone, while others 
can be played in the schoolroom or gymnasium, or, 
if there is no gymnasium, in the basement playroom. 
Those marked S. may be played in the schoolroom, 
and those marked G. in the gymnasium or playroom. 
The figures indicate the grade of pupils for which 
the games are best adapted, 1 standing for the pri- 
mary grade, 2 for the lower grammar, 3 for the upper 
grammar and 4 for the high school. 



Bean bags in a circle, S., G., 

1, 2, 3. 
AU up, S., G., 2, 3, 4. 
Ball, hunt, S., G., 2, 3, 4. 
Beast, bird or fish, S., 3, 4. 
Call tag, S., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
Birds, S., G., 1, 2. 
Follow the leader, S., G., 1, 2, 

3, 4. 
Ducks fly, S., 1, 2. 
Going to Jerusalem, S., 1, 2, 

3, 4. 
Catch ball, S., G., 1, 2, 3. 
Guess ball, S., G., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
Herr Slap Jack, S., G., 1, 2, 

3. 
Observation, S., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
Basket ball, G., 3, 4. 
Ball and bases, G., 3, 4. 



Ball stand, G., 3, 4. 
Bears and cattle, G., 3, 4. 
Black and red, G., 3, 4. 
Cat and rat, G., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
Hunt the fox, G., 1, 2. 
Steeple chase, G., 3, 4. 
Dodge ball, G., 2, 3, 4. 
Garden scamp, G., 2, 3, 4. 
Hanging cats, G., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
Jump the shot, G., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
Lame fox and chickens, G., 1, 

2, 3, 4. 
Last couple out, G., 3, 4. 
Ninepins, G., 2, 3, 4. 
Stealing sticks, G., 3, 4. 
The billed cat, G., 1, 2, 3, 4. 
Three deep, G., 2, 3, 4. 
King's castle, G., 2, 3. 
Fox and geese, G., 2, 3. 



All of the above-named games marked ''G." and 
many others, like ''I spy," *Hag," ''duck on the 
rock," may be played on the playground. There 
are many games like ''geography," "assumed char- 
acters," and "authors," which will be found a 



School Hygiene 355 

valuable help in connection with the regular work 
of the school.* 

In what is said of the importance of games and 
plays as school exercises, it is not meant that gym- 
nastic exercises have not a distinctly constructive The true value 

and corrective value, nor is it meant that they should ^^ gymnastic 

exercises 
be excluded from the school. Emphasis is here 

placed upon exercises of recreation and relaxa- 
tion, because they have to some extent been discon- 
tinued in the abandonment of the recess, and because 
in the strain of school work they are especially 
needed. 

In the thirty minutes allowed daily for recesses, 
fully two-thirds of the time should be given to the 
wholly recreative exercises. If any more than the 
remaining time is needed for gymnastics, let it be 
taken from the time which has been assigned for 
recitation and study. In school buildings provided Time for recre- 
with a gymnasium, regular semi-weekly or tri- ^^^^® exercises, 
weekly periods should be set off for systematic ex- 
ercise in gymnastics, — periods sufficiently long to 
give opportunity for carefully graded class and 
individual work. 

That the effects of systematic physical training are 
felt in other ways than in promoting bodily health 
should be realized by every teacher. Dr. Hartwell 
says (21, p. 510): ''If we once admit, as we must 
admit, that thought and feeling, judgment and 
volition are inexpressible and ineffectual except 
through motor acts, and that motor acts are ani- 

* In an interesting test, given recently to over 2,000 children, 
by Mr. Monroe of the Westfield, Mass., Normal School, it was 
found that 32 per cent, of the favorite games mentioned were 
ball games; 31 per cent., chase games; and 10 per cent., motion 
games. Further details of the test are given in (24, p. 1084). 



350 



Appendix F 



Intellectual 
and moral ef- 
fects of physic- 
al training. 



mated and controlled by the central nervous system, 
the inference is clear that physical training is an 
essential element in the development of mental 
health and power." Of the beneficial effects of 
games in the intellectual and moral development Dr. 
Lincoln says (16, p. 71) : "These games are well 
suited to bring out some of the basal traits of charac- 
ter and intellect, — quick sight, dexterity of hand, 
agility, lung power, voice, speed, endurance, with 
love of fairness, self-assertion, will-power, social 
instinct and general experience of unveiled human 
nature/' 



Special and Individual Treatment 
It is a well-known principle of education that the 
needs of individual pupils should be met as far as 
possible. This principle is especially important 
Ways of meet- when applied to physical training. It is applied in 
ing the needs every case of eye or ear defect that is observed and 
treated, and in the case of children who are sent 
home from school on account of illness. The same 
principle is recognized in placing defectives in 
separate schools and classes. In our state institu- 
tions for the blind, deaf and feeble-minded it is 
found very important to give individual treatment 
to the inmates, especially to those of the feeble- 
minded school. The same is true with the "abnor- 
mally defective" schools and classes already alluded 
to. 

In these classes special and individual physical 
treatment of the pupils, such as* manual exercises, 
baths and gymnastics, is found to be very useful. 

As time goes on doubtless the treatment will be 
still more individualized, with the view of prevent- 
ing possible moral as well as intellectual ills. We 



of individual 
pupils 



Treatment of 

individual 

pupils. 



School Hygiene 367 

may well carry this process of individualization still 
further in the physical treatment of normal-minded 
pupils who have signs of physical defects, as shown 
in wrong postures, awkward movements and mal- 
formations. A recent movement in Brookline bids 
fair to do much in this direction. Here those pupils 
who are found to need corrective exercises are ex- 
amined by the instructor of physical training, with 
a view of prescribing daily home and school exer- 
cises. In the clinic, which is held for an hour once 
a week, a careful examination is made of the pupils 
who are taking the special treatment, for the purpose 
of ascertaining what progress is made and what 
change of treatment is needed. 

It is on such special and preventive lines of 
treatment for abnormal children that the schools of 
the future will more and more work. It will not 
be, however, until the people believe in a policy of 
prevention rather than mere restraint and punish- Prevention 
ment in respect to crime. It may be that society better than 

for many years to come will seek to protect itself ^^^ ^^^^. ^^ 
1 n -, n p -1 • -I correction, 

by means oi the pound oi retributive cure meted out 

to criminals ; but more and more apparent as time 
goes on will become the effectiveness of the ounce of 
prevention in the special treatment of children 
and youth before the crimes are committed. 

Already there are signs of an awakening realiza- 
tion of the value of reformative measures in the 
quite general approval among thinking people of the 
great work which Mr. Brockway has done during 
the past few years with the prisoners in Elmira. 
Here for several years men were treated according Experience in 
to their individual needs by giving them baths, mas- ElmlraTN. Y.' 
sages, physical and manual exercises, and by provid- 
ing for them study and useful occupations, with the 



358 



Appendix F 



result, as Mr. Sanborn has pointed out,* ' ' of securing 
the astonishing percentage of more than seven refor- 
mations out of every ten persons." If the vahie of 
special hygienic and educational treatment of 
criminals is thus marked, what cannot be said of the 
value of such treatment when given to young persons 
before fixed habits are formed? 

To carry out the needed corrective and preventive 
treatment for abnormal children, as well as the 
regular constructive work for all, there should be 
employed, in addition to the usual force, a health 
A health officer officer, called the school physician or director of 
for all the hygiene, whose duty will be to examine from time 

schools needed. ^^ time the pupils, for the purpose of ascertaining 
which of them need special treatment, and to pre- 
scribe what that treatment shall be. His duty also 
will be to inspect the hygienic conditions of the 
schools, and to recommend needed improvements. 
In addition to these duties, he will direct and assist 
the teachers in carrying on the physical training of 
the school, both in its educational and in its hygienic 
aspects. 

Thus will be assured in education the same con- 
sideration for the body which is now believed to be 
necessary for the mind. Physical training in its 
broadest sense will become the business of the school 
no less in the special correction of existing ills and 
the prevention of greater ones than in the more 
general building up of the body. Health of body 
will be regarded not only as coequal in educational 
importance with health of mind, but as inextricably 
bound up with it, both in the processes of education 
and in the ends of efficient service in the world. 



Health of body 
and'of mind. 



* Papers in Penology, February, 1900, p. 29. Elmira, N. Y. 



School Hygiene 359 

List of Books^ Reports and Articles to which 
Reference has been made in the Preceding Pages 

1. Kotelmann, Ludwig: School Hygiene. Syra- 
cuse, N. Y., 1899. 

2. Seventh annual report of the Maine State Board 
of Health. Augusta, Me., 1892. 

3. Burrage and Bailey: School Sanitation and 
Decoration. Boston, 1899. 

4. Burnham, William H. : Outlines of School Hy- 
giene in Pedagogical Seminary, Vol. II., No. 1. 
Worcester, Mass., 1892. 

5. Report of the Public Education Association of 
Philadelphia, 1900. 

6. Clark, T. M. : Rural School Architecture. 
Washington, D. C, 1880. 

7. Carpenter, R. C. : article in the Brickbuilder for 
March, 1900. Boston. 

8. Woodbridge, S. H. : Schoolhouse Warming and 
Ventilation. Connecticut. School Document, 
No. 13, 1898. 

9. Cambridge, Mass., school report for the year 
1899. 

10. Proceedings of the National Educational Associa- 
tion for 1898. 

11. Eulenberg and Bach: Schulgesundheitslehre. 
Berlin, 1900. 

12. Burgerstein and Netolitzky: Handbuch der 
Schulhygiene. Jena, 1895. 

13. Report of the Commissioner of Education for 
1898-99. 

14. Whitcomb, A. K. : An address upon the Physical 
Defects of School Children. Lowell, Mass., 1900. 

15. Report of the Chief of District Police and in- 
spection department of Massachusetts for 1891. 



360 Appendix F 

16. Lincoln, D. F. : Sanity of Mind. Boston, 1900. 

17. Warner, Francis : The Study of Children. New 
York, 1897. 

18. Rowe, S. H. : The Physical Nature of the Child. 
New York, 1899. 

19. Annual report of the superintendent of the 
Boston public schools. March, 1900. 

20. Text-book of Physiology, edited by E. A. Schaef- 
er. New York, 1898. 

21. Report of the Commissioner of Education for 
1897-98. 

22. The Brookline, Mass., Education Society Year 
Book for 1899-1900. 

23. Warner, Francis: The Nervous System of the 
Child. New York, 1900. 

24. Proceedings of the National Educational As- 
sociation for 1899. 

25. Richards, Ellen H. : Sanitary Science in the 
Home. Philadelphia, 1888. 

26. Six lectures upon school hygiene, delivered 
under the auspices of the Massachusetts Emer- 
gency and Hygiene Association. Boston, 1885. 

27. Richards and Woodman: Air, Water and Food. 
New York, 1900. 

28. Newsholme, Arthur: School Hygiene. Boston^ 
1901. 

29. Shaw, Edward E. : School Hygiene. New York, 
1901. 



General Plan of Studies for Elemen- 
tary Schools 



APPENDIX G. 

It is not feasible in a work of this kind to present 
a plan of studies which can be fully and universally 
used. The most that may be done is to offer sug- 
gestions in respect to helpful programmes of pre- 
scribed work and to submit a general scheme which 
may be a guide for superintendents and others in 
making definite courses. 

It will be the aim here first to give some statistics 
to supplement and support the theories given in 
previous pages and afterwards to brin^ together a 
few suggestions as to the possible arrangement of 
studies on lines already laid down.* 

In discussing the general features of a course of 
studies it was said that "the questions involved in 
making a course of studies are determined by con- 
siderations which relate to the child's nature and 
capacity, and by the ends which are sought to be 
secured in education." It is fair to presume that Considerations 

these considerations have been the guide of persons determining 

1 • , 1 £ J. J- • J a course of 

m making the courses oi studies now m use, and any ,. 

intelligent presentation of a new course or revision 

of an old one should be governed, in some degree at 

least, by the opinions of wise educators everywhere, 

as embodied in the courses which they have made. 

* For discussion relative to the making of a Course of 
Studies see pp. 68-124. 

(361) 



362 Appendix G 

With this thought in mind the author caused to be 
sent to various places in this country blanks calling 
for significant facts in relation to the courses and 
programmes then in actual operation. A few of the 
results of this investigation are given below for the 
purpose of supporting some of the statements pre- 
viously made relating to the making of a course of 
studies, f There are also given some of the results 
of other investigations made upon the same lines as 
well as some of the conclusions embodied in well 
known reports upon courses of studies. 

The investigation referred to above related to the 
courses of studies pursued in sixty cities and towns 
which might fairly be considered as representative 
cities and towns of the country. The following 
table shows the number of cities and towns in which 
the various subjects are taught and in what grades 
the subjects are taught. It should be said 
that in 44 of the 60 places reporting there were 9 
grades and in the other 16 places there were only 8 
grades. 

Table I. Showing the subjects taught in various 
grades in sixty cities and towns: 

TABLE I Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. 
BRANCHES 12345 6789 

reading 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 59 43 

writing 60 60 60 60 60 59 55 52 36 

spelling (lists) 34 46 53 58 58 58 56 54 38 

1 anguage and composition .. . 51 57 60 60 58 55 51 47 41 

grammar - - - 2 4 15 34 51 40 

Latin -^---145 12 

French or German ----11323 

arithmetic '. 53 59 60 60 59 60 59 57 41 

algebra - - - - - - 6 11 22 

geometry - - - 2 4 5 6 8 6 

history and biography 9 12 15 22 29 32 47 57 39 

geography* 9 14 23 38 40 40 41 39 24 

elem. sci. or nature study ... 50 51 52 52 52 51 50 47 37 

singing 57 58 59 59 59 59 56 56 42 

drawing 58 58 58 58 59 59 59 58 43 

manual training or cooking .7 5 5 10 13 14 15 13 38 
* 41 places reporting, 29 of them having 9 grades. 

f A full report of this investigation is given in the Sixtieth, 



General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 363 

From the above table it appears that the three R 's 
still hold the most prominent place in all the grades. 
Singing and drawing are taught in nearly every Subjects gen- 
grade of all schools reported, while spelling and erally included 
language have almost as good a showing. Geog- ^^ ^ course, 
raphy and history are almost universally taught in 
the upper grades, and their elements are not neg- 
lected in a large proportion of the lower grades. 
If the supplementary reading in these subjects had 
been counted there would doubtless have been a 
better showing in all the lower grades. 

The most surprising figures are those given in con- 
nection with elementary science or nature study. 
That more than five-sixths of all the grades below 
the 8th and a scarcely less proportion in the 8th 
and 9th grades are receiving instruction in this 
branch is mose gratifying. It will be remembered 
that elementary science was one of the so-called 
high school branches recommended in the report of 
the Committee of Ten. It is believed that it has 
found its way into a large number of the best schools 
since the report was made. The other branches 
recommended, viz., Latin, French or German, 
algebra and geometry, have not fared so well, and 
yet more than one-half of the whole number of 
courses reported have in them one or more of these • 

subjects. 

Accompanying the replies from which the above 
table was made were expressions of opinion from 
superintendents of schools or principals relating to 
the success or non-success of the introduction of 
extra studies in the grammar grades. With few 

Sixty-first and Sixty-second Eeports of the Massachusetts 
State Board of Education. 



364 



Appendix G 



Course follow- 
ed in Engljgli 
elementary 
schools. 



Course in 
French elemen- 
tary schools. 



exceptions the testimony is all in favor of a retention 
of the studies. 

As is well known, the subjects of instruction in 
England, France and Germany are determined by 
the central government, and are followed, with 
minor exceptions, in large and small places alike. 

In England the public elementary schools receive 
children at the age of 7 years. The course of 7 
years folloAving the infant school course includes 
the following subjects: reading, writing, arithmetic, 
English, and geography. 

English, geography, elementary science and needle- 
work (for girls) are class subjects, but only two of 
them can be taken, one of which must be English. 
Drawing and singing may also be taught. 
Any two of the following subjects may be taken by 
pupils of standards Y., VI., VII. (last three years 
of the course) : algebra, Euclid and mensuration, 
mechanics, Latin, French, animal physiology, botany, 
principles of agriculture, physics, domestic economy 
(for girls). 

In France the subjects of instruction in the ele- 
mentary schools (ecoles primanes elementaires) are 
as follows : 

1. Subjects and exercises which pertain to phys- 
ical education, including hygiene, gymnastics, mili- 
tary exercises (without arms), manual training. 

2. Subjects which pertain to intellectual educa- 
tion, including reading, writing, French language, 
history, geography, civics, arithmetic, geometry, 
drawing, elementary science (animals, plants, 
minerals, physiology and the elements of physics 
and chemistry), agriculture, singing. 

3. Subjects pertaining to moral education, includ- 
ing the memorizing of poems, and regular talks and 



General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 365 

lessons upon duties in the family, in society, and in 
the state. 

The above course covers 7 years, from the age of 
6 to 13 years. 

The courses of higher schools, the ecoles primaires 
superieures and the cours complement aires, are based 
directly upon the work done in the lower schools. 
The first year of these courses corresponds with the 
8th or 9th year of our schools and adds algebra and 
either German or English to the above subjects. 

In Germany there are, in general, two kinds of 
elementary schools, the first and by far the most 
numerous being the public schools, which are free 
in most parts of the empire. These schools, known 
as the people's schools {V olkschulen) or community 
schools (Gemeinde-schulen) , have a course from 6 to 
8 years in length, generally 8, comprising the follow- Subjects of 
ing subjects: religion, language (German), reading, j^^^ ^^^ i^'^ i^ 
writing, arithmetic, history, geography, natural his- schools of 
tory, geometry, physics, drawing, singing and gym- Germany, 
nasties. In some places a foreign language (either 
Latin, French or English) and algebra are added to 
the course. This course, unlike the elementary 
school courses in Prance and America, is not directly 
connected with the high school courses, inasmuch as 
the latter courses demand much more foreign 
language study in the first six or eight years of 
school life than is given in the common or people's 
school. 

The second kind of elementary schools are in- 
cluded in the lower grades of the various kinds of Courses in 
high schools and the preparatory schools {Vorschul- Preparatory 
en), which generally have a course 3 years in length. ^ ^^ses and 
Upon the supposition that the elementary course in j^j^j^ schools in 
these schools covers a period of 8 years, 3 years in Germany. 



366 



Appendix G 



Report of the 
Committee of 
Ten. 



Report of the 
Committee of 
Fifteen. 



the preparatory school and 5 years in the high school 
proper, the time given to Latin is 5 years ; to French 
or English, 2 to 4 years; and to Greek, 2 years, in 
addition to the subjects mentioned above. The 
lower grade of high schools does not teach Greek 
and the girls' high schools do not teach either Latin 
or Greek. 

The committee appointed by the National Educa- 
tional Association, known as the ''Committee of 
Ten," recommended in its report of 1893, in respect 
to subjects not ordinarily pursued in grammar 
schools, (1) that Latin be begun in the grammar 
school, (2) that German or French be begun in the 5th 
year of school and continued through the course of 8 
years, (3) that algebraic expressions and symbols be 
used in simple equations in connection with arithme- 
tic, (4) that concrete geometry be studied from the 
5th to the 8th year inclusive, and (5) that natural 
history and elementary science be' taken throughout 
the course. 

The report of the Committee of Fifteen, read at 
the Cleveland meeting of the Department of Super- 
intendence, in 1895, recommended that the following 
subjects be taught (the figures denote the year of 
school) : reading, 1-8 ; penmanship, 1-6 ; spelling 
lists, 4-6 ; language and grammar, 1-7 ; Latin or 
French or German, 8 ; arithmetic, 1-6 ; algebra, 7^ 
8 ; geography, 2-8 ; natural science and hygiene, 1-8 ; 
history of United States, 7, 8 ; Constitution of United 
States, 8; general history and biography, 1-8; 
physical culture, 1-8; vocal music, 1-8; drawing, 
1-8 ; manual training, sewing and cooking, 7, 8. 

From a review of the courses pursued in the 
English, French, and German elementary schools and 
the courses recommended by the Committee of Ten 



General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 367 

and the Committee of Fifteen, it will be seen that 
there is practical unanimity in respect to carrying 
on, during the whole or a part of the time, reading, 
language, penmanship (including spelling, composi- 
tion, writing, and grammar), arithmetic, elementary 
science or nature study, physiology and hygiene, 
geography, history. 

The points of agreement or disagreement in all 
other subjects appear in the following table : 

Table II. Years given to a foreign language, alge- Comparative 
hra, geometry and manual training, in English, table. 
French, and German courses and in courses recom- 
mended hy the Committee of Ten and the Committee 

of Fifteen. 

[Letters used to denote the courses are used as follows: E. 
English Public Elementary School. Fr. French Elementary- 
School. G. V. German People's School. G. G. Lower classes , 
of the German Gymnasium and the Preparatory Department. 
G. E. Lower classes of the German Eeal-Gymnasium and the 
Preparatory Department. G. O. Lower classes of the German 
Oberrealschul and the Preparatory Department. T. Eeport of 
Committee of Ten. F. Eeport of Committee of Fifteen.] 

Latin, ... E* 5th, 6th, 7th. 

G. G. 4th to 8th. 
G. R. 4th to 8th. 
T. Time not given. 

F. Either Latin, French or 

German, 8th. 
One or more mod- E* 5th, 6th, 7th. 
ern languages. G. G. 7th, 8th. 

G. R. 6th to 8th, French; 8th, 

English. 
G. 0. 4th to 8th, French; 7th 
8th, English. 



368 



Appendix G 



T. 



Algebra 



Geometry 



F. 



E 



T. 



Manual Training E. 



Fr. 



Optional. 



5th to 8th, German or 

French, optional. 
8th, either Latin, French 

or German. 
5th, 6th, 7th. 
G. G. Custom varies as to time 

and extent. 
G. R. Custom varies as to time 

and extent. 
G. 0. Custom varies as to time 

and extent. 
T. With arithmetic in latter 
part of the course. 

F. 7th, 8th. 

E* 5th, 6th, 7th. 
Fr. All grades. 

G. V. 7th, 8th, constructive and 

demonstrative. 
G. G. Custom varies as to time 

and extent. 
G. R. Custom varies as to time 

and extent. 
G. 0. Custom varies as to time 

and extent. 
One period a week during 

last 4 years. 
Needlework for girls re- 
quired in all grades. 
All grades, — cardboard 

and woodwork for 

boys ; needlework for 

girls. 
G. V. Sewing required in higher 

grades of girls' schools. 
F. 7th, 8th. 



General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 369 

Time Limits 

In the inquiry alluded to above, information was 

sought respecting the time devoted in recitation to 

each subject pursued in the elementary schools. 

From the daily programmes of 76 schools in as many 

different municipalities of this country^ ten typical Recitation time 

programmes were selected for careful study and ^*^^' ^^^^ group 

T-- . „ . .,, of subiects in 

comparison. For convenience oi comparison with ^^^ tvoical 

the results of other investigations the subjects were programmes. 

grouped as follows : 

1. Language, including reading, writing, lan- 
guage lessons, grammar, Latin, French, German. 

2. Mathematics, including number work, arithme- 
tic, algebra, and geometry. 

3. Literature — history, including literature, civil 
government biography, and history. 

4. Natural science, including nature study, ele- 
mentary science, and geography. 

5. Miscellaneous, including singing, drawing, and 
manual training. 

The following table shows the average percentage 
of recitation time given in each grade to each of the 
first four groups of subjects as outlined in the ten 
typical programmes mentioned above. 

TABLE III Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Aver- 

GROUPS OF STUDIES 1 13456789 age 

I. Language 65.7 56.0 49.1 34.7 31.5 32.0 34.3 32.5 27.1 40 3 

II. Mathematics.... 14.4 18.5 17.1 17.6 17.4 18.1 18.5 20.0 25.9 18.6 

III. Science 12.4 12.1 12.8 21.6 24.5 23.6 22.7 19.4 18.2 18.5 

IV. Literature-history 7.4 13.1 20.8 25.8 26.2 25.8 24.2 27.7 28.6 22.1 

The percentages contained in the above table may 
be regarcied as a fair average of allotments made in 
the designated groups of studies in our best schools, 
and represent some of the best thought of the 
country respecting the relative value of these groups. 



370 



Appendix G 



Time for each 
group in 
various schools 
of this and 
other 
countries. 



In the report from which the above table is takerr 
a careful review Avas made of the recommendations 
in respect to time allotments of the Committee of 
Ten, and of the Committee of Fifteen. Reference 
also was made to the Elementary Courses of France 
and Germany, and to an investigation in California 
in which the conclusions of educators were sought 
as to the proportion of time which should be given 
in each grade to each of the four groups of subjects 
named above. Several separate tables were made 
embodying these recommendations and practices,, 
and upon them a careful estimate was made as ta 
the relative time which should be given to each 
group of subjects in a proposed course. The follow- 
ing table summarizes all the results given in per- 
centages of time allowed for each group of subjects: 



TABLE IV 
pupil's age and grade 



c5^ 



CALIFORNIA 
REPORT 



bC3 
c3 O 

0) 



a 



d o 






C o 






<C0 CM 



(u a> 

CO as 

° a 

o o 
Pi 



( I 65.7 50.0 85.0 - - -t ! 45 

Age 5 to 6, called Grade 1 . . . ) II 14.4 16.6 5.0 - - -?• ) 10 

in Nine Year's Course. . ... 1 III 12.4 16.6 5.0 - - -S 1 30 

( IV 7.4 16.6 5.0 - - -M ( 15 

( I 56.0 50.0 50.0 60.9 50.0 55.5 55 

Age 6 to 7, Grade 1 or Grade ) II 18.5 16.6 15.0 9.7 14.2 16.6 15 

2 i III 12.1 16.6 15.0 19.5 14.2 16.6 15 

( IV 13.1 16.6 20.0 9.7 21.4 11.1 15 

( I 49.1 50.0 50.0 60.9 50.0 50.0 50 

Age 7 to 8, Grade 2 or Grade ) II 17.1 16.6 25.0 9.7 14.2 22.2 15 

3 i III 12.8 16.6 10.0 19.5 14.2 16.6 15 

( IV 20.8 16.6 15.0 9.7 21.4 11.1 20 

I I 34.7 33.3 50.0 50.0 41.1 52.3 35 

Age 8 to 9 Grade 3 or Grade ) II 17.6 25.0 20.0 16.6 23.5 19.0 20 

4 ) III 21.6 25.0 15.0 23.3 23.5 14.2 20 

( IV 25.8 16.6 15.0 10.0 23.5 14.2 25 

( I 31.5 33.3 50.0 40.0 26.3 31.8 30 

Age 9 to 10, Grade 4 or Grade ) II 17.4 25.0 20 14.2 21.0 18.1 20 

5 ■) III 24.5 25.0 15.0 22.8 21.0 13.6 25 

( IV 26.2 16.6 15.0 22.8 31.5 36.3 25 



General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 371 

( I 32.0 33.3 40.0 37.7 26.3 32.0 30 

Age 10 to 11, Grade 5 or ) II 18.1 25.0 25.0 15.7 21.0 16.0 20 

Grade 6 j III 23.6 25.0 20.0 23.2 21.0 16.0 25 

( IV 25.8 16.6 15.0 23.2 31.5 36.0 25 

( I 34.3 25.0 40.0 37.7 26 3 28.0 30 

Age 11 to 12, Grade 6 or ) II 18.5 25.0 25,0 15.7 21.0 20.0 20 

Grade 7 ) III 22.7 25.0 20.0 23.2 21.0 16.0 25 

( IV 24.2 25.0 15.0 23.2 31.5 35.6 25 

( I 32.5 25.0 35.0 18.5 - 28.0 30 

Age 12 to 13, Grade 7 or ) II 20.0 25.0 25.0 18.5 - 24.0 20 

Grades } III 19.4 25.0 20.0 18.5 -16.0 20 

( IV 27.7 25.0 20.0 44.4 - 32.0 30 

( I 27.1 25.0 35.0 18.5 - 30.4 Sd 

Age 13 to 14, Grade 8 or ) II 25.9 25.0 25.0 18.5 - 26.0 25 

Grade 9 111118.2 25.0 20.0 18.5 -17.3 15 

( IV 28.6 25.0 20.0 44.4 - 26.0 30 

It will be seen that the above table has no refer- 
ence to the fifth group of subjects which includes 
singing, drawing, and manual training. To this 
group of subjects the following percentages may 
perhaps fairly express the relative time which should 
be given in each grade : 1st grade, 24 ; 2d grade, 24 ; 
3d grade, 22; 4th grade, 20; 5th grade, 20; 6th 
grade, 20; 7th grade, 20; 8th grade, 20. 

A readjustment of percentages so as to express 
the relative percentage of time which should be 
given to each of all groups of subjects in all the 
grades gives the following table : 

Showing the approximate percentage, in a proposed Approximate 
course of studies, of the entire recitation time of a P£}'9^^.^S^S^,,, 
pupil or group of pupils spent in I. Language {includ- y^^^^^*i^^ ^^^®^ 
ing reading, writing, spelling, composition, English course'for' 
grammar and a foreign language), II. Mathematics elementaiyj; j 
(including arithmetic, algebra, geometry and hook- schools. 
keeping). III. Elementary science {including nature 
study, physiology, hygiene and geography), IV. His- 
tory {including English literature, civil government, 
biography and history proper), V. Miscellaneous 
exercises {including singing, drawing and manual 
training). 



372 Appendix G 

TABLE V Sub- Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. 

GROUPS OF STUDIES prim. 123 456 78 

I. Language 29 40 37 28 24 24 24 24 24 

II. Mathematics 6 12 12 15 16 16 16 16 20 

III. Science 20 12 12 15 20 20 20 16 12 

IV. History 10 12 15 20 20 20 20 24 24 

V. Miscellaneous 35* 24 24 22 20 20 20 20 20 

*Inc]uding physical exercises, games, manual training, form study, etc. 

The above percentages may be said to represent 

fairly the present relative value in education of the 

given groups of subjects as expressed in the most 

carefully planned courses of study in this country. 

Besides serving as a basis for further investigations, 

it is hoped that they will serve a twofold purpose, 

first, in testing time programmes in present use, and, 

secondly, in assisting superintendents and teachers 

to make new programmes. To show a possible use of 

the table in the latter direction the following time 

Actual time to programme is given, in which the number of minutes 

be spent in J; i a week of recitation time is found after subtracting 

each group of from the entire school time the time given to open- 

su jec s. ^^^ exercises, to study or busy work and to recesses 

and physical exercises, the school day being 5I/2 

hours long and there being 5 days in the week. 

Time programme, si towing the number of yninuHs 
a week spent in recitation by a pupil or group of 
pupils in five groups of subjects; also the number of 
minutes a week given to opening exercises and recesses 
and to study in school. 

TABLE VI Sub- Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr 
GROUPS OF STUDIES pri. 1234 56 7 8 

I Language * 325 360 333 273 234 240 240 276 276 

II! Mathematics.... 75 108 108 146 156 160 160 184 230 

III Elem Sci 225 108 108 146 195 200 200 184 138 

IV Hist "& Lit 125 108 135 195 195 200 200 276 276 

V," Misc 450t 216 216 215 195 200 200 230 230 

Opening exercises, 
nhysical exercises 

and reces<=ies . — 250 250 225 225 200 200 200 200 

Study in school' ' ... — 500 500 450 450 450 450 300 300 

Total school time. 1,200 1,650 1.650 1,650 1,650 1,650 1,650 1,650 1,650 

♦Figures in this column indicate the number of minutes spent in 

recitation and busy work taken together. 

tincluding physical exercises, games, kmdergarten occupations, etc. 



General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 373 

The recitation time indicated in the above pro- 
gramme is intended to include the time more or 
less of which is spent nnder the direction of the 
teacher, or which is spent in quiet work by the pupil, 
as in some language work, nature study, drawing 
and Avriting. The study time includes only the time 
that is spent by the pupil without direction or aid 
from the teacher. 

Of course the time allowed for busy work or study 
will depend upon the number of sections or groups 
in which the recitations are heard. The above time 
programme is made on the supposition that the class 
or school is divided into three sections in the first 
and second- grades and into two sections in all other 
grades, and that in some of the exercises the three 
or two sections recite together. 

A re-arrangement of the above table so as to in- 
clude literature in the language group changes the 
percentages in the first and fourth group as shown 
in the following table : 

Showing the approximate percentage, in a proposed Percentage of 
course of studies, of the entire recitation time of a time with 

pupil or group of pupils spent in I. Language {includ- literature in- 

7- •, • 77. ... TTT 7- 7 eluded in the 

mg reading, writing, spelling, composition, English 

grammar and literature and a foreign language), 
II. Mathematics (including arithmetic, algebra, ge- 
ometry and bookkeeping). III. Elementary science 
{including nature study, physiology, hygiene and 
geography), IV. History {including civil government, 
biography and history proper), Y. Miscellaneous 
exercises {including singing, drawing and manual 
training). u' 



language 
group. 



374 Appendix G 

TABLE VII. Sub- Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. 

GROUPS OF STUDIES pri. 13345 678 

I. Language ... 29.0 42.0 42.0 38.0 32.0 32.0 32.0 33.0 33.0 

II. Mathematics. 6.0 12.0 12.0 15.0 16.0 16.0 16.0 16.0 20.0 

III. Science 20.0 12.0 12.0 15.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 16.0 12.0 

IV. History 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 12.0 12.0 12.0 15.0 15.0 

VI. Miscellaneous 35.0* 24.0 24.0 22.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 

*Including physical exercises, games, manual training, form study ,etc. 

It should be understood that the figures in the 
above tables indicate the average for the year, so 
that if, as is likely to be the case, it is desired to 
limit the number of studies pursued at any one time 
to three or four, the aggregate number of minutes 
and the average percentage of time for the year 
will be the same as indicated although at a given 
time there may be a greater or less number in given 
studies. For example, if it is decided to carry 
on geography in the 6th grade only fifteen weeks of 
the year, (40 weeks) the average weekly time spent 
upon that subject will be determined by multiplying 
the number of minutes spent a day by 15 and 
dividing the product of these numbers by 40. 

Suggested Course of Studies for a SuB-PRIM.^RY 
Class Admitting children five years of age 

Suggested Language and Literature.— {Tiiae spent daily in 

course for a recitation and busy work for a single group of 
sub-primary pupils, about 90 minutes.) Story telling,— selec- 
tions from kindergarten stories, myths and fairy 
tales. Reading of words in sentences on blackboard 
and chart and on picture slips. Reading sentences 
from blackboard and chart and on picture slips. 
Phonic drill. Some analysis and synthesis by sounds. 
"Writing on tracing slips, blackboard and paper. 
Large movements. 

Number and Form. — (Time spent daity, about 15 
minutes.) Fourth and fifth kindergarten gifts for 
counting and combining. 



General Plan of Studies for Elementary Schools 375 

Nature Study.— (Time spent daily, about 45 rain- 
Tites.) Recognition of common plants and trees, and 
their principal parts. Observation of and talks 
about familiar domestic animals and birds. Some 
resemblances and differences noted. Adaptation of 
parts to uses observed. 

Physical and Mammal Exercises. — (Time spent 
daily, about 90 minutes.) Plays, games and calis- 
thenics. Kindergarten occupations, including sew- 
ing, weaving, cutting, folding, peas-work, clay-model- 
ling, bead-stringing, chain-making, drawing, paint- 
ing, sketching from memory and imagination, 
k:indergarten and nursery songs. 

OuTiJNE OF A Course of Studies for Primary and 
Grammar Schools 

The following outline suggests a possible adjust- Outline of a 
ment of primary and grammar school work to the course for 

conditions indicated. While it is probably in- P^^^^y ^^d 

grammar 
sufficient to meet fully the needs of any system oi schools. 

-schools, it is hoped that it will fulfill in some degree 
the requirements of a general course, upon which 
more detailed courses may be constructed suited to 
various localities and conditions. The absence of 
repeated directions to review previous work and 
to follow proper lines of teaching indicates the pre- 
sumption of professional ability on the part of 
teachers. A course of studies is not a manual relat- 
ing to methods and theories of teaching, however 
useful such a statement of methods and theories 
may be for some teachers. Happy is it for those 
schools whose courses of studies may presuppose the 
employment of teachers whose knowledge of the 
principles of teaching is undoubted, and whose 
judgment is fully trusted in the selection of mate- 



376 Appendix G 

rials within the bounds of an outline not greatly 
extended. 

It should be understood that this course is in- 
tended for pupils who enter school at six years of 
age, and who come either from the kindergarten or 
sub-primary class. Some pupils who have taken the 
course outlined for the sub-primary class may be 
able to take the work outlined for the 1st grade in 
less than a year. 

The figures in the left-hand column indicate the 
year and semester during which the work in parallel 
columns is supposed to be done. For example, 2^ 
means the first-half of the second year. The 
figures in decimals above each year's outline of work 
denote the approximate percentage of recitation 
time which a pupil or group of pupils should give 
to the allotted group of subjects. These figures are 
taken from Table VI., page 372. -; 



Course of Studies 

for 

Primary and Grammar Schools 



378 



Appendix G 



GROUP I. (.42) 

CJratie (a) Reading and literature (b) Writ- 

and iag 

Semes- 
ter, (c) Oral and written Composition and 
Spelling. 

(d) Memory work. 

(e) Grammar. 



GROUP II. 

(a) Arithmetic. 

(b) Form and geometrical Exercises. 

(c) Algebra. 

Xd) Book-keeping. 



(a) Words and sentences from black- 
board, chart and reader. 

Analysis and synthesis of words by 
sound. 

Careful selection of folklore and fairy 
stories told by the teacher. (See list 
of books) 



(a) Combinations of numbers to ten 
with and without objects. Oral 
work only during first ten weeks Or- 
iginal story problems Use terms one- 
half and one-fourth as fractional parts 
of numbers. Teach quart and pint. 



(b) Coi^ying words and sentences from 
blackboard and slips. Copying sin- 
gle letters. 



(c) Telling of stories told or read. 



<d) Learning and reciting of short pieces- 
a minimum average of two lines a day. 



(b) General comparison of blocks in 
size-blocks being from one to ten 
inches in length and one inch square 
at base. 



(a) Reading easier pieces of four or more 
first readers. 

Analysis and synthesis of words by 
sound and letter. 
Stories continued. 



(b) Copying sentences from models and 
writing from dictation. 
Correct forms of single letters taught. 



(a) Combinations of numbers to twenty 
with and without objects. 

Teach dozen, quart, gallon, pint, gill 
dime, foot, inch. 

Fractional parts of numbers (one- 
half, one-third, etc.) 
Original and fractional problems. 

(b) Comparison of edges and surfaces of 
inch cube with those of other blocks 
(one-half, one-third, etc.) 



(c) Telling of stories told or read. Dic- 
tation of short sentences. Teach 
pupils to write their name; school; 
town; father's (Mr.) name; mother's 
(Mrs.) name; teacher's name. Period 
and question mark. 

(d) Learning and reciting of short pieces. 
Review first half year's work fre- 
•quently — minimum as before. 



Outline of a Course of Studies 



379 



GROUP III. (.12) 



GROUP IV. (.10) 



GROUP V. (.24) 



(a) Nature study and Ele- (a) History and biography (a) Drawing and art. 
raentary science 

(b) Geography (b) Civil Government. (b) Manual traj^ning 

(c) Physiology and hygiene. (c) Singing. 



(a) Recognition of common 
plants and trees. Teach 
principal parts. 
Observe flesh-eating ani- 
mals (dog, cat) for habits 
and adaptation of parts to 
habits; pictures of un- 
familiar animals for com- 
parison. 

(b) Uses of plants and their 
parts. 

Uses of animals and their 
parts to man. Animal 
productions, 

(c) Simple talks upon play- 
ing, sleeping, eating; also 
upon clothing and home- 
life. 



(a) The telling of carefully 
selected folklore and fairy 
stories in connection with 
the work in literature. 



(a) Free illustrative sketch- 
ing from memory and im- 
agination. The solar spec- 
trum for color study of 
pictures for story. 



(b) Paper folding and kin- 
dergarten weaving. 



(c) Breathing and phonic 
exercises. 

Dictation and memory 
exercises. Tone building on 
music ladder (not above 
fifth tone). 
Rote singing 



(a) Recognition of common 
rocks. 

Buds observed. Naming 
of common plants and 
trees. 



(b) Uses of rocks to man. 
Mineral productions. 
Uses of plants and trees 
and their parts. 
Vegetable productions. 

(c) Talks upon school life 
and streets. 

Talks upon body as a 
whole, parts, habits, etc. 



(a) The telling of carefully 
selected folklore and fairy 
stories in connection with 
the work in literature. 



(a) Blackboard drawing, free 
movement. Straight lines 
and curves. 

Drawing from nature sim- 
ple grasses and flowers 
using colored crayons. 
Six standard colors 

(b) Tape and rug weaving. 
Rafia braiding and sewing 



(c) Breathing and phonic 
Exercises 
Tone building 
Rote singing 



380 



Appendix G 



GROUP I. (.42) 

Grade (a) Selections in the order of difficulty 
and from several first readers. Telling 

Semes- and reading of carefully selected 
ter. folklore and fairy stories. 

Analysis and synthesis of words con- 
tinued. 



2 



(b) Copying and writing from dictation. 
Practice upon forms of single letters, 
if needed. 

Oral and written compositions (repro- 
ductions, etc.) daily. 
Common abbreviations Uses of Cap- 
itals. Dictations for correct forms 
words, of spelling, etc. 
Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 



GROUP II . (.12) 

(a) Numbers from one to one hundred r- 

(1) Combinations of tens and of tens 
with other numbers. 

(2) All combinations to fifty, no 
added or subtracted number or multi- 
plier or divisor to be greater than ten. 

(3) Application to familiar weights 
and measures. Comparisons in prob- 
lems. 

(4) Fractional parts of numbers. 

(5) Original problems. 

(6) Volumes and surfaces of inch 
cube and two inch cube compared. 
Perimeters of inch cube and of other 
cubes compared. 



2 



(a) Easier portions of several second 
readers 

Telling and reading folklore and fairy 
stories continued. 

Daily phonic drill for enunciation and 
word building. 



(b) Copying and writing from dictation 
with pen and ink. 

Teach correct forms of single letters, 
if needed. 



(a) Numbers from 1 to 100: — 

(1) All combinations, the added or 
subtracted number or multiplier or 
divisor to be at first not greater than 
10 — afterward greater than 10. 

(2) Applications to famihar weights 
and measures. Comparisons in prob- 
lems. 

(3) Fractional parts of numbers 

(4) Original problems 

(b) Comparison in size of prisms each 
of whose bases is one inch square. 
Comparison of surfaces of same prisms 



(c) Oral and written compositions 
(reproductions, etc.) daily. 
Dictation for teaching use of capitals, 
common abbreviations, period, inter- 
rogation and exclamation mark. 
Spelling of common words. 

(d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 



Outline of a Course of Studies 



381 



GROUP III. (.12) 

(a) Common plants and 
trees recognized and 
.named ; 

Observe grass eating an- 
imals (cow, horse, sheep) 
for habits and adaptation 
•of jiarts to habits. 
Use pictures of unfamiliar 
animals of same class for 
•comparison. 



GROUP IV. (.10) 

(a) Telling and reading of 
stories adapted to matur- 
ity and ne^ds of children. 
Select with reference 
to season and to what is 
done in nature study and 
reading. (See list of 
books.) 



GROUP V. (.24) 

(a) Illustrative drawing 
Study of pictures for story 
Memory and imagination 
sketches with help of live 
objects, (birds and an- 
imals) 

Six standard colors with 
water colors. 



<b) Useful vegetable and 
animal productions. Lo- 
cation of plants observed. 
Position, direction and 
relative distances 



(b) Paper folding and cut- 
ting. 

Rafia weaving, braiding 
and sewing. 



<c) Simple lessons continued 
with playing, eating, 
sleeping, clothing and life 
in the home and school 



(c) Breathing and phonic 
exercises. 
Tone building 
Rote singing. 



.<a) History of plant life 
from seed to seed. Ob- 
serve bean and pea. 
Plant several kinds of 
seeds for observation and 
comparison. 

Observe and name com- 
mon plants and trees of 
neighborhood and culti- 
vated plants. 

'(b) Plants and parts used 
for food and clothing. 
Use of seeds to man. 
Forms of water. Direc- 
tion and distance applied 
to familiar bodies of land 
and water. 

Animal and vegetable pro- 
ductions of the town. 

(c) Lessons upon use and 
care of five senses. Spec- 
ial exercises to develop 
each sense. 



(a) Telling and reading of 
stories. Select with ref- 
erence to capacity of 
children, to the season and 
to what is done in nature 
study and reading. (See 
list of books.) 



(a) Blackboard drawing; 
related curves and straight 
lines. 

Drawing from nature sim- 
ple grasses and flowers, 
using water colors. 



(b) Ruling lines of definite 
lengths and divisions. 
Cutting to line with scis- 
sors. 

Rafia weaving, braiding 
and sewing. 
Garden work. 



(c) Breathing and phonic 
exercises. 
Tone building 
Rote singing 



382 



Appendix G 



GROUP I. (.38) 

Grade (a) Difficult portions of second readers 
and and carefully selected folklore, fairy 

Semes- tales and myths, 
ter. 



(b) Copying and writing from dictation. 



GROUP II. (.15) 

(a) Numbers to 1,000. 

(1) Addition, subtraction, multipli- 
cation and division, with and without 
objects. 

(2) Applications to familiar weights 
and measures. 

(3) Comparison of weights and meas- 
ures with different units. 

(4) Original problems 

(b) Comparison of surfaces of cubes and 
prisms with surface of inch cube. 
Comparison of perimeter of known 
surfaces with perimeter of square 
inch. 



3 



(c) Daily composition (oral and written) 
and dictation exercises. Attention 
given to abbreviations, spelling, 
punctuation, use of correct words and 
correct forms of words. 



(d) Pieces of previous year reviewed. 
Carefully selected prose and poetry 
continued. 



(a) Third readers and books of C9r- 
responding grade. Selected stories 
continued. (See list of books.) 



(a) Numbers to 1,000. 

(1) All operations. 

(2) Apphcations in common weights 
and measures with comparisons. 

(3) Original problems. 



(b) Copying and writing from dictation. 



(b) Measurements of familiar surfaces 
and practical applications. Com- 
parisons with various units. 



3 



(c) Daily composition and dictation 
exercises. Attention given to spell- 
ing, punctuation, use of capitals, 
choice of words and forms of words; 
also to clearness and originality. 

(d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 



Outline of a Course of Studies 



383 



GROUP III. ( 15) 

^a) Recognizing and naming 
common plants and trees 
and grouping according to 
habitat. 



GROUP IV. (.10) 

(a) (1) Stories connected 
with history of town and 
neighborhood, pioneers and 
traditions. 

(2) Thanksgiving and 
Christmas celebrations 



GROUP V. (.22) 

(a) Free-hand drawing of 
plants and other common 
objects. Hues of color by- 
means of colored papers 
and in washes. 



(b) Home geography in- 
cluding local surroundings 
and industries. 

Facts relating to surface, 
soil, and productions. 
Primitive peoples and oc- 
cupations. 

(c) Previous work reviewed. 
Lessons connected with 
playing, working, resting, 
eating, clothing and clean- 
liness. 

Comparison of parts of 
body with corresponding 
parts in lower animals. 
Adaptation of each part 
to special use. 



(b) Garden work 

Rafia work in baskets^ 
mats, dolls' hats, etc. 



(c) Breathing, phonic dic- 
tation and memory exer- 
cises continued. Tone 
building in music ladder. 
All tones of scale. Rote 
singing. 



(a) (1) Study birds for hab- 
its and adaptation of parts 
to habits. Comparative 
study of feathers. 

(2) Changes in plant and 
animal life in spring. 
Grouping of plants ac- 
cording to habitat; time 
of appearance, etc. Life 
history of corn compared 
with bean and pea. 

(b) Home geography con- 
tinued. Study of the 
world as a whole, in- 
cluding land and water 
surfaces. 

Weather record 
Making oi plans and maps. 
Topics relating to history 
and nature study re- 
quirements. 

(c) As in first half 



(a) (1) Stories of local 
history and pioneer life 
continued. 

(2) Celebration of Wash- 
ington's birthday and bat- 
tles of Lexington and Con- 
cord. 



(a) Illustrative drawing 
Drawing of animals in ink, 
silhouette or color. 
Harmonious arrangement 
of one color with black, 
white or grey. 

Drawing of grasses, leave^ 
and flowers from nature in 
color. Use of floral ele- 
ments in borders or surface 
patterns in color. 
Original designs 

(b) Cutting units of design 
Rafia work in baskets, 
napkin rings, mats, dolls* 
hats etc. 



(c) Breathing, phonic and 
tone exercises continued. 
Rote singing. Study of 
notes, rests, etc. Keys of 
C and G. Two part ex- 
ercises and songs. 



384 



Appendix G 



GROUP I. (.32) 

'Grade (a) Literature and information read- 
and ing suited to the interest and capacity 

Semes- of pupils. (See list of books.) 
ter. , 



GROUP II. (.16) 

(a) (1) Integers to one million. Addition, 
subtraction multiplication and divi- 
sion. 

(2) Common fractions; halves, 
fourths, eighths, thirds, sixths, 
twefths. 

(3) Simple business transactions. 

(4) Common weights and measures 

(5) Comparisons with various units. 



(b) Instruction to pupils who need it. 



(b) Angles, and areas of rectangles and 
other parallelograms. 



4' 



(c) Daily and weekly composition and 
dictation exercises, giving attention 
to spelling, punctuation, use of capi- 
tals, choice and forms of words: also 
clearness conciseness, originality and 
fluency of expression. 

(d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 



■(a) Literature and information reading 
suited to the interest and capacity 
of pupils. (See list of books.) 



(a) (1) Integers unlimited. 

(2) Common fractions to twefths* 
decimal fractions to hundredths. 

(3) Applications in simple business 
transactions and in common weights 
and measures. 

(4) Comparisons in examples and 
problems with various units. 



(b) Instruction to pupils who need it. 



(b) Areas of triangles and practical 
applications. 



(c) Daily and weekly composition and 
dictation exercises continued. 



(d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 



Outline of a Course of Studies 



385 



GROUP III. (.20) 

(a) (1) Plant and its parts: 
parts of leaves and flowers; 
change of flowers to fruit 
and seed. 

(2) Animals: recogni- 
tion, habits and adaptation 
of parts. Cycle of animal 
life as shown in frog;group- 
ing of known animals. 



(b) Local physiography and 
local commerce. 
Topics of home life; man- 
ufacturing plants. 
Topics suggested by na- 
ture study and history 
requirements. 



(c) Previous work reviewed 
and continued. Lessons 
upon occupations in va- 
rious kinds of climate and 
need of fpure air in sleep- 
ing rooms. 

' Lessons upon good and 
bad kinds of food and 
drink. 



GROUP IV. (.12) 

(a) (1) Telling and read- 
ing of stories connected 
with discoveries and ex- 
plorers, especially of the 
home state and neighbor- 
ing states. 

(2) National stories con- 
nected with history of 
Judea, Egypt and Greece. 



GROUP V. (.20) 

(a) (1) Free-hand drawing 
in any appropriate med- 
ium of plants, fruits and 
other objects (spherical). 
Analysis of leaves and 
flowers for color schemes. 

(2) Study of famous 
paintings for center of 
interest and emphasis. 
Tint and shades in water 
color 
Original designs. 

(b) Accurate drawings with 
ruler involving i", \" , 
\" , and cutting in card- 
board. 

Simple constructive de- 
signs 

Card picture frames and 
the like, of good propor- 
tions 

Basket, hat and rug mak- 
ing 

(c) Breathing and tone ex- 
ercises. Exercises and 
songs in key of C. G. and 
F. 

Two part songs. 



(a) (1) Pebbles, sand and 
clay with reference to life 
history of rocks. Observe 
crystals and show how 
they may be found. 

(2) Effect of heat on 
water and air. 

(3) Recognitionfof plants. 
Changes in nature and 
their relation to plants, 
animals and man. 

(4) Movement and 
changes in moon. Observe 
star groups. 

(b) (1) General topics upon 
North America. 

United States as a whole 
and in sections by topics. 
State and town by topics. 
Topics related to history 
requirements. 

(2) Special lessons on 
climate. 

(c) Previous work reviewed 
and continued 

Lessons upon proper kind 
of clothing, ventilation, 
heating, lighting, water 
supply and sewerage. 
Lessons upon good and 
bad personal habits, and 
avoidance of disease. 



(a) (1) Stories connected 
with early home history 
continued. 

(2) National stories con- 
nected with history of 
Rome and England, 



(a) Drawings in mass of 
animals and children in 
interesting attitudes. 
Drawings in any appropria- 
ate medium of leaves and 
flowers from nature. Ap- 
plication in border and 
surface patterns in color. 
Study of tints and shades 
of one color in design. 



(b) Cutting of geometric 
forms in thin wood. 
Making of useful articles 
in cardboard 
Garden work 



(c) Breathing and tone ex- 
ercises and songs in key of 
C. G. and F. 



380 



Appendix G 



GROUP I. (.32) 

Grade (a) Literature suited to the interest and 
and capacity oi pupils. (See list of books.) 

Semes- Information reading with reference to 

ter. requirements in history, geography 

and nature study. (See list of books.) 



GROUP II. (.16) 

(a) (1) Common fraction: — Addition, 
subtraction, multiplication and divi- 
sion ; decimal fractions to thousandths 
all operations. 

(2) Applications and comparisons 
with common weights and measures 
and in business transactions. 

(b) Kinds and areas of polygons. 



5' 



(b) Instruction for those who need it. 



(c) Daily and weekly composition and 
dictation exercises continued. (See 
outline for grade IV.) 



(d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 



(a) Literature suited to the interest 
and capacity of pupils. (See list of 
books). 

Information reading with refer- 
ence to the requirements in his- 
tory, geography and nature study. 
(See list of books.) 



(a) (1) Common and decimal fractions: 
all operations unlimited. 

(2) Applications and comparisons 
in business transactions. 



5' 



(b) Instruction for those who need it. 



(b) Areas of surfaces of cube prism and 
square pyramid. 



(c) Daily and weekly composition and 
dictation exercises continued. (See 
outline for Grade IV.) 



(d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 



Outline of a Course of Studies 



387 



GROUP III. (.20) 

(a) Plants and parts con- 
tinued, emphasizing roots 
and stems. 

Study of leaves and barks 

of trees. Grouping of 

plants. 

Study of rock forming 

minerals, quartz, mica, 

feldspar, etc. Building 

stones. 

Motion and pressure in 

solids, water and air. 

(b) Topics upon the United 
States Types of moun- 
tain, lake and river sys- 
tems. Types of natural 
productions 

Topics related to history 
and nature study require- 
ments. 

(c) Use and care of skis, 
nails, hair, and sense or- 
gans. Effects of alcohol 
and tobacco. 



GROUP IV. (.12) 

(a) (1) Spanish and Portu- 
gues explorers and settlers 
in America. 

(2) Stories connected 
with history of Spain and 
Portugal. 



GROUP V. (.20) 

(a) (1) Free-hand drawing 
any medium of plants, 
fruits and sirnple spheri- 
cal and cylindrical objects. 
Analysis of leaves and 
flowers for color schemes. 

(2) Study of famous 
paintings for centre of in- 
terest and emphasis. Sub- 
ordination accessories. 
Hues in water color. 

(b) Modifications of poly- 
gons for objects of silk 
reel, badge, etc. Con- 
struction in appropriate 
material. 

Making of common use- 
ful articles in card, wood 
or iron. 

(c) Breathing and tone ex- 
ercises continued. 

Work in chromatic inter- 
vals . 

Exercises and songs in all 
keys. 



(a) (1) Minerals continued. 
Continue study of changes 
in heat on water and air. 
Apply to phenomena of 
seasons. Changes in posi- 
tion of sun. 

(2) Insects: study of one for 
type of insect life, — grass- 
hopper or butterfly; adap- 
tation of parts to habits; 
metamorphosis. Relation 
of known insects to man 
as useful or injurious. 

(b) United States con- 
tinued. 

Types of climate, trade 
centres, occupations and 
manufacturing centres. 
Topics related to history 
requirements. 

(c) Previous work reviewed. 
Description, use and care 
of muscles, bones, joints, 
nerves and brain. Effects 
of alcohol and tobacco 



(a) (1) English and Dutch 
explorers and settlers in 
America 

(2) Stories connected 
with the history of Eng- 
land and France. 



(a) (1) Drawings in mass of 
animals and children in 
interesting attitudes. 

(2) Illustrative drawing 
in other studies. Study 
of analagous coloring; re- 
lated hues in design. 

(3) Drawings of plants 
and insects from nature in 
any appropriate medium. 
Arrangement in spaces, 
applications in borders, 
surface patterns and ro- 
settes in color. 

(b) Development of surface 
of pyramids in cardboard. 
Applications in thin wood. 
Wood or metal working 
in making common useful 
articles. 

(c) Breathing and tone ex- 
ercises continued. 
Exercises and songs in all 
keys. 



388 



Appendix G 



GROUP 1. (.32) 

Grade (a) Literature suited to the interest and 
and capacity of pupils. (See list of books.) 

Semes- Information reading with reference to 

ter. requirements in history, geography 

and nature study. (See list of books.) 



GROUP II. (.16) 

(a) (1) Metric system of weights and 
measures and apphcations. 
(2) Percentage and simple applica- 
tions in business problems. 



6' 



(b) Instruction for those who need it. 



(b) Solid contents of cubes and rec- 
tangular prisms, with application in 
practical problems. 



(c) Daily and weekly composition 
and dictation exercises continued. 
(See outline for Grade IV.) 



(d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 



(a) Literature suited to the interest 
and capacity of pupils. (See list of 
books.) 

Information reading with reference 
to requirements in history, geography, 
and nature study. (See list of books.) 



(a) (1) Practical problems in denom- 
inate numbers, using the common 
and metric systems. 

(2) Business transactions and ac- 
counts. 



(b) Instruction for those who need it. 



(b) Measurements of circles. 

Areas of surfaces of prisms and 
cylinders. 



(c) Daily and weekly composition 
and dictation exercises continued. 
(See outline for Grade IV.) 
(d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 



Outline of a Course of Studies 



389 



Group III. (.20) 

(a) (1) Study of trees, fruits 
and dispersion of seeds. 
Grouping of plants 

(2) Study of common 
metals and their ores— iron, 
copper, etc. 

(3) Observation of birds 
as to habits, etc. 



(b) Historical associations 
and commerce of the great 
cities of United States. 
Great traffic routes 
Industrial and commer- 
cial development of va- 
rious sections of U. S. 
Topics related to history 
requirements 

(c) Uses of food. Proper 
foods and drinks. Habits 
of eating and drinking. 
Digestive tract — parts, use 
and care. Effects of al- 
cohol and tobacco. 



GROUP IV. (.12) 

(a) (1) Colonial history of 
Virginia, New York and 
Pennsylvania. Chief 
events and stories of prin- 
cipal persons. 

(2) Persian Wars 
Greecian history. Stories 
of Marathon, Platea and 
Salamis. 



GROUP V. (.20) 

(a) (1) Drawing in any me- 
dium of plants and common 
objects. Analysis of leave 
and flowers for color 
schemes. 

(2) Study of famous 
paintings for centre of 
interest and emphasis, 
grouping of accessories 
for leading lines. 

(3) Working drawings in 
connection with indus- 
trial work . 

(b) Wood and card work for 
boys from working draw- 
ings, 

Sewing and cooking for 
girls. 



(c) Three part exercises and 
songs. 

Introduction of minor 
scales. 



(a) (1) Combined effects of 
heat and gravity on water 
and air, absorption, trans- 
fer and radiation of heat 
by solids and liquids. 

(2) Comparison of parts 
of birds with correspond- 
ing parts of vertebrates. 

(3) Clusters of flowers 
in maple, elm, horse chest- 
nut, oaks and birches; 
tree fruits. 

(b) Canada and Mexico 
Distribution of races in 
North America; glacial 
period in N. America 
Mathematical geography 
relating to change of 
seasons, day and night, 
isothermal lines, tides. 
Topics relating to history 
requirements. 

(c) Description of parts 
and uses of lungs and re- 
lated organs Breathing 
exercises ventilation. 
Effects of tobacco and al- 
cohol 

Description and uses of 
heart and blood vessels. 
Circulation Effects of 

air. Exercise and cloth- 
ing. Cuts and wounds. 
Effects of tobacco and al- 
cohol. 



(a) (1) Colonial history of 
Massachusetts: chief 
events and stories of prin- 
cipal persons. 
European wars related to 
America. 

(2) Roman history: 
The Punic Wars 
The Scipios 



(a) (1) Drawings in mass of 
animals and children in 
interesting attitudes. Il- 
lustrative drawing in other 
studies. Study of analo- 
gous coloring, related lines, 
in design. 

(2) Plant forms in ap- 
propriate medium. Ar- 
rangements in spaces of 
different shapes. Appli- 
cations in borders, surfaces, 
rosettes, etc., in color. 

(b) Wood and card work for 
boys from working draw- 
ings. 

Sewing and cooking for 
girls. 



(c) Previous exercises con- 
tinued. 



390 



Appendix G 



GROUP I. (.33) 

Grade (a) Literature suited to the interest 
and and capacity of pupils. (See list of 
Semes- books). 
ter. Information reading with reference 
to requirements in history, geo- 
graphy and nature study. (See list 
of books.) 



GROUP II. ( 16) 

(a) Insurance, commission, profit and 
loss, taxes, duties, interest. 



7* 



(c) Daily and weekly composition and 
dictation exercises. (See outline for 
Grade IV.) 



(d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 

(e) Ideas and words. Thoughts and 
sentences. The Sentence. Kinds of 
Sentences with respect to meaning 
Parts of speech: General uses, defi- 
nitions and applications. 



(b) Measurements and problems re- 
lating to angles and areas of surfaces 
of pyramid and cone. 



(a) Literature suited to the interest and 
caoacity of pupils. (See list of books.) 
Information reading v.ith reference to 
requirements in history, geography 
and nature study. (See list of books.) 



(a) Business transactions and accounts 
involving problems in banking, stocks, 
and bonds, etc. 
Ratio and proportion. 



7 



(c") Daily and weekly composition and 
dictation exercises. (See outline for 
Grade IV.) 



(b) Solid contents of cylinder, pyramid, 
cone, sphere and frustrum of pyra- 
mid and cone. 



(d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 

(e) Subject and predicate: objects and 
comnlements. Phrases, clauses and 
sentences. Kinds of sentences in 
respect to form. 



Outline of a Course of Studies 



391 



GROUP III. (.16) 

(a) Composite family of 
grasses and grains. 
Coal ; combustion and can- 
dle flame products. 



(b) Topical study of Ger- 
many, Holland, Austria 
and British Empire and 
colonial possessions. 
Topics related to history 
requirements. 



(c) Home hygiene in respect 
to bathing, clothing, care 
of eyes, sleep and recrea- 
tions. Emergencies in 
bandaging and splinting, 
convulsions and uncon- 
sciousness. 

Structure of lungs. Ef- 
fects of respiration upon 
air and blood. Generation 
of heat in body. 



GROUP IV. (.15) 

(a) Topical study: 

(1) Colonial history of U. 
S. Causes of revolution 
traced from the beginning. 

(2) Chief events of ref- 
ormation in Continental 
Europe and puritan refor- 
mation in England. 



(b) Local town and county 
governments Officials by 
whom chosen, duties, etc. 
State government: 
Branches; function of each 
branch ; 

Officials; — by whom 
chosen, terms, duties, etc. 



GROUP V. (.20) 

(a) (1) Drawing in any me- 
dium of plants and com- 
mon objects. 

Illustrative drawing in 
other studies. 

Analysis of beautifully col- 
ored objects for color 
schemes. 

_ (2) Study of famous paint- 
ings for composition of 
line and of light and shade 
or mass. 

(b) Wood working for 
boys from working draw- 
ings. 

Needle work for girls. 



(c) Previous exercises con- 
tinued. 



(a) Typical marine animals: 
starfish, oyster or clam, 
lobster or crab. Compare 
with vertebrates (fish). 
Rose family 

Composition of air, water 
and various foods. 
Some principles of acous- 
tics. 



(b) Topics upon Russian 
Empire, Norway, Sweden, 
Denmark, Italy, France, 
Belgium 

Topics related to history 
requirements. 

(c) Home hygiene in respect 
to preparation of food, 
habits of eating and drink- 
iog, care of lungs. Effects 
of dust, standing water, 
refuse and noxious gases. 
Disinfection. 

Care of invalids 
Emergencies in choking 
and accidental poisoning, 
drowning, suffocation , etc. 



(a) Topical study in U. S.: 

(1) Chief events from 
1775 through Madison's 
administration 

(2) Chief events of Ro- 
man Empire and French 
revolution. 



(b) Topical study of State 
government continued. 
Topical study of United 
States government : 
Branches; function of each 
branch; officials, qualifica- 
tions, terms, duties, etc. 



(a) (1) Drawing in any me- 
dium of children in inter- 
esting attitudes and of de- 
tails of interior of room. 
Free-hand perspective 
Story of Christian archi- 
tecture and ornament. 

(2) Adaptation of nat- 
tural forms to purposes of 
decorative designs. Api^li- 
cations to initials, head and 
tail pieces, etc. in black 
. and white and color. 
Complementary colors in 
designs. 

(b) Wood v/orking for boys 
from working drawings. 
Needle work for girls. 



(c) Previous exercises con- 
tinued. 



392 



Appendix G 



GROUP I. (.33) 

Grade (a) Literature suited to the interest and 
and capacity of pupils. (See list of 
Semes- books.) 
ter. Information reading with reference 

to requirements in history, geog- 
raphy and nature study. (See list of 
books.) 



GROUP II. (.20) 

(a) Definitions, rules and formulas. 
Miscellaneous exercises. 



(b) Definitions, problems and theo- 
rems relating to angles, lines, and 
sides and areas of triangles and of 
parallelograms. 



8' 



(c) Daily and weekly composition and 
dictation exercises. (See outline 
for Grade IV.) 



(c) Algebraic notation and simple 
problems. Addition, subtraction, 
multiplication, division and factor- 
ing. 



(d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 

(e) Kinds, forms and uses of nouns, 
pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, 
prepositions and conjunctions. 



(a) Literature suited to the interest 
and capacity of pupils. (See list of 
books.) 

Information reading with reference 
to requirements in history, geog- 
raphy and nature study. (See Ust 
of books.) 



(a) Definitions, rules and formulas. 
Miscellaneous exercises. 



8' 



(o)Daily and weekly composition and 
dictation exercises. (See outline 
for Grade IV.) 



(b) Definitions, problems and theo- 
rems relating to circles and similar 
polygons, and to prisms, pyramids, 
spheres, cylinders and cones. 



(c) Reduction of fractions. Resolv- 
ing of equations, with two un- 
known quantities, involution and evo- 
lution. 

(d) Simple form of accounts. 



(d) Memory work reviewed and con- 
tinued. 

(e) Rules of syntax and applications. 
Analysis of sentences. 



Outline of a Course of Studies 



393 



GROUP III. (.12) 

(a) (1) Poisonous plants and 
trees 

(2) Cohesion, gravity and 
heat 



(b) (1) Topics upon coun- 
tries and colonies in Africa 
and South America. 

(2) Comparative study 
of climate and climatic 
influences and of vegata- 
tion in different latitudes 
and conditions. 



(c^ Public hygiene: Rela- 
tion of personal, home and 
school hygiene to public 
health. Requirements 
of pure food, water and 
air. Protection from dis- 
ease, alcohol and other 
poisons. Boards of health. 
Protection and adultera- 
tion of food supply. Pro- 
tection of water supply. 
Means of prevention of 
water from pollution. 



GROUP IV. (.15) 

(a) (1) Topical study of U. 
S. history from 1815 to 
present time. 

(2) English in India and 
Africa. Revolt of Span- 
ish American provinces. 
Greek wars of independ- 
ence. 



(b) Topical study of U. S. 
government continued. 
Election and appointment 
of officials. Terms of 
office and duties of officials. 
Civil service. Principles 
and basis of local govern- 
ment. 

Duties of citizens 
Local questions discussed 



GROUP V. (.20) ■ 

(a) (1) Drawing in any me- 
dium of common objects. 
Illustrative drawings in 
other studies. 

Analysis of beautifully col- 
ored natural objects for 
color schemes. 

(2) Study of famous 
paintings for composition 
of line and of mass. 

(b) Gardening and work of 
previous grades continued. 



(c) Previous exercises con- 
tinued. 



(a) (1) Sight, Sound and 
Electricity 

(2) Injurious insects; 
time and method of exter- 
mination. 



(b) (1) Topics upon coun- 
tries of Southern Europe. 
Japan and Chinese Em- 
pire. 

Comparative study of 
winds and their effects — 
and of states of society. 



(c) Public hygiene: Dangers 
from impure air. Pro- 
tection from impure air. 
Sanitary regulations for 
public buildings. Plumb- 
ing. Removal of garbage 



(a) (1) Topical general re- 
views such as American 
Indians; negro slavery; 
political parties; inven- 
tions; growth of territory; 
the tariff; growth of in- 
dustries ; territorial ex- 
pansion; civil service re- 
form. 

Questions connected with 
current events. 

(2) Union of German 
and Italian States. Re- 
volt of Spanish American 
provinces. Greek wars of 
independence. 

(b) Principles of state gov- 
ernment: basis; object 
of laws; relation of each 
branch to each other; 
duties of citizens and of 
officials ; state questions 
discussed. 

Principles of national gov- 
ernment: the constitution ; 
national questions; rights 
and duties of nations; war 
and arbitration. 



(a) (1) Drawings in any me- 
dium of children in inter- 
esting attitudes, and of 
details of interiors of 
buildings. Freehand per- 
spective. Story of pre- 
Christian architecture and 
ornament. 

(2) Adaptation of nat- 
ural forms to purposes of 
decorative design. Appli- 
cations in book covers, 
title pages, etc. Comple- 
mentary groups of colors 
in design. 

(b) Work of Seventh grade 
continued. 



(c) Previous exercises con- 
tinued. 



394 Appendix G 



and sewerage. Regula- 
tions concerning stables, 
etc. Dangerous and of- 
fensive employments. 
Protection from contagion. 
Care and isolation of the 
sick. Special school hy- 
giene. Protection from 
alcohol and other poisons. 



List of Books 

Following are the list of books to whieli reference 
has been made in the foregoing course of studies. 
It is difficult to draw the line between books of 
literature and books of information. Some of the 
books classed as literature may not properly belong 
there by a strict definition of that term, and some 
belonging under both heads are for the sake of 
brevity placed under only one. Many of the books 
assigned to one class of pupils may with profit be 
used in other classes. Those books designated for 
the first three grades are books which may be read 
to the pupils of those grades by the teacher or be 
read by the pupils themselves. 

Selections to which allusion has been made in the 
course of study may be found in the books recom- 
mended. 

Books of Literature (Grades I, II. and III) 

iEsop's Fables 

Adventures of a Brownie (Mulock) 

Alice in Wonderland (Carroll) 

Bailey Book (Bailey) 

Bible Stories, 2 vols. (Modem Readers' Bible Series) 

Blue Fairy Book (Lang) 

Child Life in Prose and Verse (Whittier) 

Children's Garlands (Patmore) 

Child's Garden of Verse (Stephenson) 

Christmas All the Year Round (Howells) 

Classics in Baby Land (Bates) 



A List of Books 395 

Classic Myths (Gayley) 

Doings of the Pansy Family (Peck) 

Dream Children (Scudder) 

Fables and Folk Stories (Scudder) 

Fables and Rhymes (Thompson) 

Fairy Tales (Anderson) 

Fairy Tales (Grimm) 

Heart of Oak Series I, II 

In the Child's World (Poulsson) 

In Mythland (Beckwith) 

Kindergarten Stories (Wiltse) 

King Kindness (Walls) 

Miscellaneous Stories (Ewing) 

Nature in Verse (Love joy) 

Nature Myths (Cooke) 

Old Greek Stories (Baldwin) 

Old Stories of the East (Baldwin) 

Old Stories Retold (Binner) 

Old Testament Stories (Houghton) 

Open Sesame, vol. I 

Poems for Children (Ewing) 

Poetry for Children (Eliot) 

Poetry for Children (Lamb) 

Poetry of the Seasons (Lovejoy) 

Rainbows lor Children (Child) 

Southern Stories for Little Readers (Harcourt) 

Stories for Children (Wiggin) 

Stories for Children (Lane) 

Stories of King Arthur (Hansen) 

Story of Milo (Kuck) 

Sunshine Land (Thomas) 

Books of Information (Grades I., II and III) 

All the Year Round, 4 vols. (Strong) 

American Life and Adventure (Eggleston) 

Aunt Martha's Comer Cupboard (Kirby) 

Big People and Little People of Other Lands (Shaw) 

Brooks and Brook Basins (Frye) 

Child's Book of Nature, Vol. 1 (Hooker) 

Friends in Feathers and Fur (Johonnot) 

Geographical Nature Studies (Payne) 

Grandfather's Stories (Johonnot) 

Historic Boys and Girls (Brooks) 



396 Appendix G 

Home Geography (Long) 

Learning About Common Things (Abbott) 

Little Folks in Feathers, etc. (Miller) 

Little Folks of Other Lands (Chaplin) 

Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe 

Little People of Asia (Miller) 

Madam How and Lady Why (Kingsley) 

My Saturday Bird Class (Miller) 

Nature Stories (Bass) 

Nature's Byways (Ford) 

Queer Little People (Stowe) 

Rab and His Friends (Brown) 

Seed Babies (Morely) 

Snow Baby (Peary) 

Stories for Children (Hale) 

Stories of Animal Life (Bass) 

Stories of Plant Life (Lane) 

Stories of Colonial Children (Pratt) 

Stories of Massachusetts (Hale) 

Stories Mother Nature Told (Andrews) 

The Wide World 

Books of Literature (Grades IV, V and VI) 
A Ballad Book (Bates) 
Adventures of Ulysses (Lamb) 
Among the Hills (Whittier) 
Arabian Nights, Stories from 
Ballads and Tales (Golden Rod Books) 
Ballads of New England (Whittier) 
Bible Readings (Schaeffer) 
Bible Stories (Modem Readers Bible Series) 
Biographical Stories (Hawthorne) 
Book of Legends (Scudder) 
Children's Hour etc. (Longfellow) 
Children's Treasury of English Song 
Child Life in Prose and Verse (Whittier) 
Choice English Lyrics (Baldwin) 
Cricket on the Hearth (Dickens) 
Cruise of the Dolphin (Aldrich) ■■ 
Fairy Life (Golden Rod Books) 
Fairy Tales (Anderson) 
Fairy Tales in Prose and Verse (Rolfe) 
: German Household Tales (Grim.m) 



A List of Books 397 

Gods and Heroes (Francillon) 
Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics (Palgrave) 
Grandfather's Chair (Hawthorne) 
Greek Heroes (Kingsley) 
Gullivers Travels (Swift) 
Heart of Oak Books (III) 
Heroes of Asgard 
Hiawatha (Longfellow) 
Household Tales (Grimm) 
Jackanapes (Ewing) 
King Arthur and His Court (Greene) 
King of the Golden River (Ruskin) 
Knights of the Round Table 
Lays of Ancient Rome (Macaulay) 
Little Daffydowndilly (Hawthorne) 
Little Lord Fauntleroy (Burnett) 
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Pyle) 
Myles Standish, The Courtship of (Longfellow) 
Nature in Verse (Lovejoy) 
New England Legends (Drake) 
Nurnburg Stove 

Old Greek Folk Stories (Peabody) 
Old Greek Stories (Baldwin) 
Old Stories of the East (Baldwin) 
Old Testament Stories in Scripture Language 
Open Sesame Vol. 11. 
Our Country in Poem and Prose (Persons) 
Pied Piper and Other Poems (Browning) 
Pilgrim's Progress (Bunyan) 
Popular Tales from the Norse (Dasent) 
Profitable Tales (Field) 
Rab and His Friends (Brown) 
Robin Hood, Adventures of (Pyle) 
Robinson Crusoe (Defoe) 

Round the Year in Myth and Song (Holbrook) 
. Six Tales from Arabian Nights (Eliot) 
, Squirrels and Other Fur-Bearers (Burroughs) 
Stories of the Iliad- and Odyssey (Church; 
. Stories from Old English Poetry (Richardson) 
. Swiss Family Robinson (Wyss) 
Tanglewood Tales (Hawthorne) 
Tales of a Grandfather (Scott) 
Tales from Shakespeare (Lamb) 



398 Appendix G 

Tent on the Beach (Whittier) 

The Birds' Christmas Carol (Wiggin) 

The Building of the Ship etc. (Longfellow) 

The First Jungle Book (Kipling) 

Ulysses, Adventures of (Lamb) 

Water Babies (Kingsley) 

Wonder Book (Hawthorne) 

Books of Information (Grades IV, V and VI) 

A Hunting of the Deer (Warner) 

American History Leaflets (Hart and Channing) 

American Indians (Starr) 

American Leaders and Heroes (Gordy) 

Animals Wild and Tame (Davis) 

Around the World (Carroll) 

Biographical Sketches (Hawthorne) 

Birds and Bees (Burroughs) 

Bird Ways (Miller) 

Bird World (Stickney-Hoffmann) 

Black Beauty (Sewall) 

Book of Legends (Scudder)) 

Boy's Froissart (Lanier) 

Boy's Percy (Lanier) 

Boys of '61 (Coffin) 

Boys of '76 (Coffin) 

Boys of Other Countries (Taylor) 

Building of the Nation (Coffin) 

Cast Away in the Cold (Hayes) 

Children of the Cold (Schwatka) 

Children's Life of Abraham Lincoln (Putnam) 

Children's Stories of American Literature (Wright) 

Child's Book of Nature Vol. 2 (Hooker) 

Claws and Hoofs (Johonnot) 

Coal and Coal Mines (Green) 

Colonial Children (Hart) 

Colonial Massachusetts (Dawes) 

Curious Homes, etc. (Beard) 

Each and All (Andrews) 

England's Story (Tappan) 

English Historical Tales (Morris) 

Explorers and Travelers (Greely) 

Fairy Land of Flowers (Pratt) 

Fairy Land of Science (Buckley) 



A List of Books 399 



Few Familiar Flowers (Morley) 

Fifty famous Stories retold (Baldwin) 

First Book in Geology (Shaler) 

First Book of Birds (Miller) 

Five Little Peppers (M. Sidney) 

Four American Explorers (Kingsley) 

Four Great Americans (Baldwin) 

Four Handed Folk (Miller) 

Friends and Helpers (Eddy) 

From Flower to Fruit (Newell) 

From Seed to Leaf (Newell) 

Geographical Reader (Scribners) 

Geographical Readers (King) 

Geographical Readers (Philips) 

Girls who became Famous (Bolton) 

Grandfather's Chair (Hawthorne) 

Greek Heroes (Kingsley) 

Greeks and Persians (Cox) 

Hans Brinker, etc. (Dodge) 

Heroes of History (Towle) 

Heroes of the Middle West (Catherwood) 

Historical Readers (Gilman) 

History of England (Cooke) 

History of Rome for Beginners (Shuckburgh) 

How Our Grandfathers lived (Hart) 

In Brooks and Bayou (Bayliss) 

Indian History for Young Folks (Drake) 

Information Readers 4 vols. 

Little Flower Folks (Pratt) 

Little Folks of other Lands (Chaplin) 

Old South Leaflets 

Old Stories of the East (Baldwin) 

Old Times in Colonies (Coffin) 

Our Own Birds (Bailey) 

Our Fatherland (Carver and Pratt) 

Pilgrims and Puritans (Moore) 

Pioneers of Land and Sea (McMurry) 

Pioneers of the Mississippi Valley (McMurry) 

Pioneers of the West (McMurry) 

Rome and Carthage (Smith) 

Seaside and Wayside (Andrews) 

Seven Little Sisters (Andrews) 

Sharp Eyes (Burroughs) 



400 Appendix G 

Short Stories from' English History (Blaisdell) 

Source Book of American History (Hart) 

Source Book of English History (Kendall) 

Squirrels and other Fur Bearers (Burroughs) 

Stories from English History (Church) 

Stories from Plato (Burt) 

Stories from Old Germany (Pratt) 

Stories from' the Bible (Church) 

Stories of American History (Eggleston) 

Stories of Animal Life (Holden) 

Stories of Bird Life (Pearson) 

Stories of Colonial Children (Pratt) 

Stories of Great Americans (Eggleston) 

Stories of Greece (Guerber) 

Stories of Our Country (Johonnot) 

Stories of the Old World (Church) 

Stories of the Romans (Guerber) 

Tales of Troy (DeGarmo) 

Ten Boys who lived on the Road from^Long Ago till|Now 

(Andrews) 
Ten Great Events in History (Johonnot) 
The Children's Crusade (Gray) 
The Geograpical Stciy (Dana) 
The Story of the Birds (Baskett) 

True Stories from New England Historj^ (Hawthorne) 
Young Folks' History of England (Yonge) 
Young Folks' History of France (Yonge) 
Wigwam Stories (Judd) 

Books of Literature (Grades VII and VIII) 

Age of Fable (Bulfinch) 

A Man without a Country (Hale) 

As You Like It (Shakespeare) 

Ben Hur (Wallace) 

Bigelow Papers (Lowell) 

Birds and Bees (Burroughs) 

Bunker Hill Orations (Webster) 

Cape Cod (Thoreau) 

Character (Smiles) 

Chirstmas Carol (Dickens) 

Cotter's Saturday Night (Bums) 

Courtship of Milos Standish (Longfellow) 

Cricket on the Hearth (Dickens) 



A List of Books 401 



Enoch Arden (Tennyson) 

Evangeline (Longfellow) 

Giles Corey (Longfellow) 

Golden Treasury (Palgrave) 

Greek Heroes (Kingsley) 

Gulliver's Travels 

Hamlet (Shakespeare) 

Heart of Oak Books IV-VI 

Homer's Iliad 

Hunting of the Deer (Warner) 

Idylls of the King (Tennyson) 

Ivanhoe (Scott) 

Jason's Quest (Lowell) 

Julius Caesar (Shakespeare) 

Kennil worth (Scott) 

Knickerbocker's Stories (Irving) 

Lady of the Lake (Scott) 

Lay of the Last Minstrel (Scott) 

Light of Asia (Arnold) 

Magna Charta Stories (Gilman) 

Marmion (Scott) 

Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare) 

Mill on the Floss (Eliot) 

My Hunt after the Captain (Holmes) 

Open Sesame vol. Ill 

Patriotic Reader (Carrington) 

Peasant and Prince (Martineau) 

Poor Richard's Almanac (Franklin) 

Rasselas (Johnson) 

Selections from the Alhambra (Irving) 

Selections from Ruskin 

Self Help (Smiles) 

Sesame and Lilies (Ruskin) 

Seven American Classics (Sv/inton) 

Silas Warner (Eliot) 

Sir Roger De Coverley (Addison) 

Sketch Book (Irving) 

Snow-Bound (Whittier) 

Sohrab and Rustum (Arnold) 

Stories from Classic Literature (Palmer) 

Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) 

Tales from Shakespeare (Lamb) 

Tales of a Grandfather (Scott) 



402 A List of Books 

Tales of a Wayside Inn (Longfellow) 
Tales of the White Hills (Hawthorne) 
Toilers of the Sea (Hugo) 
The Seasons (Thompson) 
The Second Jungle Book 
The Talisman (Scott) 
Tom BrowTi's School Days (Hughes) 
Twice Told Tales (Hawthorne) 
Two Years Before the Mast (Dana) 
Uncle Tom's Cabin (Stowe) 
Vicar of Wakefield (Goldsmith) 
Vision of Sir Launfal (Lowell) 
Webster's Orations 

Books of Information (Grades VII and VIII) 

Adrift in the Ice Fields (Hall) 

American Boys' Handy Book (Beard) 

American Explorers (Higginson) 

American Girls' Handy Book (Beard) 

American History Told by Contemporaries (Hart) 

Among the Law Makers (Alton) 

Arctic Alaska and Siberia (Aldrich) 

A Trip across the Continent (Lummis) 

Autobiography (Franklin) 

Benjamin Franklin (More) 

Boyhood in Norway (Boynton) 

Boy Travelers (Knox) 

Building of the Nation (Coffin) 

Bulfinch's Age of Chivalry (Hall) 

Bulfinch's Age of Fable (Hale) 

Camp and Firesides of Revolution (Hart) 

Captains of Industry (Parton) 

Child's Book of Nature Vol. 3 (Hooker) 

Child's History of England (Dickens) 

English History for Beginners (Higginson) 

Ethics of Success (Thayer) 

Feats on the Fiord (Martineau) 

Fifteen Decisive Battles (Creasey) 

Footprints of Travel (Ballou) 

Great American Industries 

Hawaii and its People (Twombly) 

Life and her children (Buckley) 

Life of Washington (Fiske-Irving) 



Appendix G 4-03 

Life of Washington (Scudder) 

Madam How and Lady Why (Kingsley) 

Marco Polo (Towle) 

Modern Europe (Badlam) 

My Summer in a Garden (Warner) 

Old Stories of the East (Baldwin) 

Our American Neighbors 

Paul Jones (Hapgood) 

Pepacton (Burroughs) 

Plutarch's Lives 

Sea and Land (Shaler) 

Sharp Eyes (Burroughs) 

Side Lights on American History (Elson) 

Stoddard's Lectures 

Stories from Classic Literature (Palmer) 

Stories of the War (Hale) 

Story of a Grain of Wheat (Edgar) 

Story of China (Van Bergen) 

Story of the Chosen People (Grueber) 

Story of the Iliad (Church) 

Story of the Odyssey (Church) 

Story of Siegfried (Baldwin) 

Tales of Charlemagne (Plutarch) 

Tales of New England (Jewett) 

Ten Great Events in History (Johonnot) 

The American Citizen (Dole) 

The Making of New England (Drake) 

The War of Independence (Fiske) 

Type Studies of the United States (McMurry) 

Under the Southern Cross (Ballou) 

Under Sunny Skies 

Views Afoot (Taylor) 

Walden (Thoreau) 

Washington and his Country (Irving) 

W^ake Robin (Burroughs) 

Whaling and Fishing (Nordhoff) 

Winners in Life's Race (Buckley) J 

Winter in Central America and Mexico (Sanborn) 

Zig-Zag Journeys (Butterworth) _^. 



General Plans of Studies for High 

Schools 



APPENDIX H. 

The difficulties in the way of making a course 
of studies for a single high school that will meet 
the needs of all the pupils are very apparent. 

In Germany and in some of the larger cities of 
this country, the difficulties are partially met by 
separating the instruction offered into two or 
more departments and by designating each de- 
partment as a separate school. Thus we have 
in some places two or more of the following 
kinds of schools: English high school, Classical 
high school, Manual Training high school. Com- 
mercial high school. In the smaller cities and 
large towns but one high school is maintained, 
having several departments or courses such as : 
General, English, college preparatory, scientific, 
mechanical, commercial. 

In the smallest schools it will be found necess- 
ary to limit the courses to two or three. In such 
schools it may be found best to offer as many 
subjects as possible, with the understanding that 
pupils may select a given number with a max- 
imum and minimum limit. 

All of the following plans except the first are 
based upon plans in successful operation in var- 

(404) 



General Plans of Studies for High Schools 405 

ious kinds of high schools. If adopted they 
should in each case be supplemented by brief 
bulletins for the guidance and assistance of teach- 
ers. The bulletins should be in the form of sug- 
gestions relating to the order and kind of topics 
to be presented, together with some hints as to 
the purpose and means of carrying on the work 
of each subject. Some statement of methods of 
teaching might also be made including such sub- 
jects as topical teaching, methods of questioning 
and giving of tasks. 



406 



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INDEX 



INDEX 

-Abnormal children 221 

Administration, city and town 32-51 ; different in various states 

221; district and county 52-58; duties of 33, 34; kinds of 32; 

state 21-31 
Algebra in course of studies 106, 111, 112 
Appa7'atus, kind and amount needed 63, 64 
Apportionment of time 235-237 

Arithmetic, limitations of 108; sequence of work in 108 
Atkinson, Edward on ribbed glass for lighting 31 3 
Atkinson, F. W. on a plan for child study 197-199 
Attendance ('see School attendance) 
Attendance officers, appointment of 14, 15; duties of 47-49; state 

27 
Baths in school buildings 315-317 
Bla/ikboards, construction 320 

Board of education, see Schoolboard, State administration 
Books, list of for pupils 394 et seq. 
Bookkeeping as a branch of study 107 
Braiiclies of study 10, 84, 96, 99, 107 
Buildings, see School buildings 

Business manager, duties of, 47; in cities and large towns, 46, 260 
Centralization, 2idiY2int3ige^^, 22; disadvantages 22 
Changes in organization 4; to be gradual 266 
Childstudy, need of, 137; needed safeguards 138; observations and 

records 194-199; 240-242; physical condition 137; record of 

interests 138 
Clark, T. M. on ventilation 306 

Classification of pupils 40, 44, 124-133, 205-207, 213, 214 
Committee of Twelve, extract from Report relating to school rev- 
enues 284 
Community interests 181-186 
{Jommittees of school boards 37, 261 
Compulsory school attendance 1 , 141,222, 223 
Conce7itration of studies 93, 94 
Condon, R. J, on disinfection, 323 
Conduct, principles of 188, 189 
{Consolidation of schools, advantages 275; dangers 278: Dr. Harris's 

opinion 275; high schools 281; in Massachusetts 272-282; in 

(417) 



418 Index 

New Hampshire 275; in Vermont 275: limitations 278, 279, 
no general law for 280; power of local boards 280; undesir- 
able legislation 276, 277; various features of 276; ways of 
conveyance 5i81 

Co-operation of parents a?id teachers 192, 193 

Co-ordination of studies 92; examples of 93 

Corporal punishment, report on, 236, 237 

Correlation of studies 90-9b; basis of 94: concentration 95 

County supervision, see Supervision 

Course of studies, 85-124, 361 et seq. 
branches, 362-368; character of, 6S, 69; Committer of Fifteen, 
366; Committee of Ten, 366; criticism of teachers, 157; 
drawing, 119-123; elementary science, 114; elastic, 327; 
England, 364; extended, 73; four features, 95; France, 364; 
geography, 113, 114; Germany, 365; grouping of subjects, 
92; history, 116, 119; hygienic conditions of, 327-334; indus- 
trial training, 120, 121; method of making, 89; minimum of 
work required, 88; nature study, 112- 116; outline for elemen- 
tary schools, 375 et seq.; outline for high schools, 405 etseq; 
physiology, 113; separate pamphlets, 89; singing, 121, 123, 
124; sub-primary class, 374, 375; supplementary bulletins, 
88; superintendent's duty in relation to, 39,63; time limits 
78-84, 369-374; transition period, 327; two views of, 70-73 

Curriculum, aim and range of, 95, 97, 105 

Daily programme, 234, 235, 329, 330 

Defectives, schools for, 139, 220-225; separation of, 13S, 139 

Defects of graded schools, 207, 208 

Delinquents^ see Defectives 

Departmental instruction, advantages, 133; disadvantages, 133, 
124; grammar schools, 134-137; possible method, 135, 136; 
special branches, 134 

Disinfectants, 322, 3<>3 

Distance of pupils from schools, 5 

Distrihution of funds 288, 289 

District supervision, 16, 26, 27, 52-55, 250, 269 

District systems, history of, 249-252 

Durgin, Dr. on medical inspection, 345 

Duties, of superintendent, 38-44, 59-181, 256; of school boards, 
32-38, 50, 56-58 

Educational centres, 293-296 

Educational institutions, 24, 25, 183 

Electives, 76-78 

Elementary course, duration of, 66 



Lidex 4: 1 9 

Elementary science, course in, 112-116 

Equalization of privileges and taxation, 3, 19 

Esten, Mrs. Rhoda L., on schools for backward children, 291-293 

Evans, L. B., on county plan of supervision, 266-269 

Evening schools, 141-143, 193, 293; for common branches, 142; for 
drawing, 142; for higher branches, 142; industrial classes, 143 

Evolution of school supervision, 247-264 

Examinations, 160-167, 328; examples of questions, 151-162; for 
promotion, 166; method of tabulating results, 163 

Fatigue of pupils, 330, 331 

Feeble-minded children, 221 

Fiske, John, on central and local legislation, 264 

Foreign language in elementary course, 75 

Freedom of teacher, 86 

Furnald, W. E. , on number of feeble-minded persons, 221 

Furniture and furnishings, 39, 42, 62 

Games andplays, 188, 189, 353, 354 

Geometry, in the course of studies, 106, 109-111, 368 

Graded schools, defects of, 207, 208 

Grades and courses, 85 

Graduation, age of, 86 

Grammar, outline for study, 101 

Grammar school course, 67 

Gymnastic exercises, 355 

Harris, William T., on the experience of Massachusetts in educa- 
tion, 247, 248 

Harttcell, E. M , on moral effects of physical training, 355 

Health officers, appointment of, 15; duties of, 358 

Heating, 305-310, 325, 326 

High schools, courses, 84, 85, 405-413; maintenance of, 17; provision 
for, 8, 17; state aid for, 8, 9 

History, a basis of correlation, 94; course in, 116-119 

Home study, 334-338 

Hygiene, instruction in, 350, 351; see School hygiene 

Individual instruction, 139, 140, 211 

Individual needs of pupils, 207 

Individual treatment of pupils, 207-213, 356-858 

Individual work, a basis of correlation, 94 

Industrial training, 119-123 

Inefficient teachers, 168-170 

Inspection, by the superintendent, 153-168; examples of too close 
analysis, 155, 156; note taking, 154, 155; parties concerned, 
156, 157; personal criticism, 157; record of, 158-160 



420 Index 

Institutions for defectives, 222 

Intervals between classes, 904 

Isolation of studies, dangers of, 91 

Jacketed stoves, 307 

Language studies, limitations of, 101-103; time programme, 104 

Language teaching, aim and scope of, 97; ends, 98 

Legal requirements, 7 

Legislative provisions relating to school organization, 6-20 

Life hook, 196, 241-243 

Lighting of school-rooms, amount and direction, 311, 312; curtains,. 

313; prisms and reflectors, 323, 314 
Lincoln, D. F. , on moral effects of games, 356 
Local and central authority, adjustment of, 2 
Local neicspapers, use of, 183, 185 
Local school hoards, 12-14; duties of, 21; selection of, 18, 13; 

number of members of, 13 
Local taxation for schools, 18, 19, 285, 286 
Local training schools, 175, 176 
Manual training, 120, 121, 368 
Martin, George 11. , on the district system, 250 
Mathematics, course in, 105-112; scope of teaching, 105 
Medical inspection, 137, 344-350; duties of, 49, 50; examples of, 

344-346; tests by teachers, 349 
Meetings of parents, 182-186 
Meetings of school hoards, 44, 50, 51, 173 
Meetings of teachers, 170-174; programme, 172; general and grade,, 

171-173, local associations, 170, 171 
Normal schools, supported by the state, 24 
Number of pupils to a teacher, 7, 208 
Obstacles to teachers' success, 69 
Optional studies, 76, 77, 209 
Organization, see School organization 
Out buildings, 314, 315 

Parents, letter to, 341; meetings of, 182, 183; reports to, 237-240 
Partizanship, protection of school from, 2 
Physical director, 36 
Physical training, 328, 351-355 
Plays and games, 188, 189, 353, 354 
Powers of school boards, 2, 33-35, 249 
Primary course, 67, 375-393 
Principal as organizer and supervisor, 187-201 
Private schools, controlled by state, 25 
Professional supervision, 35, 45, 46, 50, 150, 253, 257 



Index 421 

Programme of daily exercises, 190, 191, 303, 234, 235 

Promotions 40, 44, 125-133, 209; faulty methods of, 125, 126; plans 
of, 126-133 

Protection of schools, 2 

Public sentiment, the awakening of, 28, 41 

Qualifications of teacJiers, 15 

Pecords and reports, 226, 243; annual and monthly reports of 
teachers, 229-232; common for all states, 227-229; of work 
done, 232, 233; pupil's record, 240-243 

Reformations, 10 

Imports, forms of, 237-240; of teachers, 230-243; of superintend- 
ents, 177-180; to parents, 237-240 

Revenues, 283-289 

Richards, Mrs. Ellen H. , on science of food to be taught, 351 

Rules of school boards, 42 

Rural schools, supervision of, 52-56, 265-271 

Sanitaries, 314, 315 

Schools, maintained at public expense, 6-10; Evening, 141-143, 
193, 293; Rural, 52-56, 265, 271; Special, 220-225; 290-297; 
support of, 17, 57, 283; Training, 175-177 ; Vacation, 140, 
141, 296, 297 

School ad7ninistratio7i, functions of, 32; kinds of, 32; city and 
town, 32-51; district and county, 52-58, 265-271; state, 21-31 

School attendance, 7-10, 41, 151 

School boai'ds, duties of, 260; executive officials of , 35, 37; powers 
of, 2, 33-35, 249; sub-committees of , 37, 38, 261; in France 
and Germany, 11; number of membei*s, 259 

School buildings, construction and care of, 38, 42, 60, 61; inspec- 
tion of, 151 

School desks and seats, 317-320 

School extension, 193, 293-297 

School funds, distribution of, 18 

School government, plans of, 159, 190, 214-219 

School hygiene, 298-360; avoidance of infection, 324; bathing 
facilities, 300; blackboards and crayons, 320; books and arti- 
cles upon, 359, 360; care of school room, 321 ; cause of weak- 
ness, 339, 340; conditions of, 298; course of studies, 326 et seq. ; 
disinfection, 323; drinking cups, 321, 323; examinations, 328; 
defectives, 328, 329; eyes, 325; fatigue, 330, 331; furniture, 
317etseq. ; health officer, 358; home study, 334-338; inspec- 
tion and supervision, 343-350; intermissions, 332; lighting of 
school rooms, 311 et seq.; location of buildings, 298, 299; 
outside conditions, 338, 339; over pressure, 330; personal 



422 Index 

habiis of bo3'S, 340; physical training, 300, 328, 334, 351-854; 
school sessions, 333; size of school-rooms, 299, 300; tests of 
purity of air, 301; ventilation, 301 etseq., 325, 326; water 
closets and out buildings, 314 et seq., 322; water supply, 
315; windows and curtains, 324 

School myanization, city and town. 32-51; district and county, 
52-58; nature and source of, 1-5; legislative proceedings relat- 
ing to, 6-20; principal, 187-201; state, 21-31; superintendent, 
59-149; teacher, 202-219 

School revenues, 283, et seq. 

School rooms, size of, 62 

School savings, 194 

School sifpervision, see Supervision 

School systems, changes in, 4 

School year, length of, 7 

Secretary of school board, 86, 37 

Self control, w^ays of encouraging, 189, 190. 214-219 

Sessions of schools, 333 

Shaio, Edicard E., on ventilation of rural school houses, 308-311 

Spelling, 100 

Special supervisars, 35, 36 

Special classes and schools; defectives and delinquents, 138, 139, 
220, 225; educational centres, 293-296; evening schools, 141- 
143; individual instruction, 139, 140, 212; maintenance by 
state, 9, 10; mentally weak, 223, 290-293, 328, 329; vacation 
schools, 140, 141, 296, 297 

State adnmiist ration of ^q\\oo\^, 'ii-'^l; state board, 10-12, 22-24, 
28, 251, 252, 262, 263; state superintendent, 28-31 

State aid, 54, 284 

Statistical blanks, 27 

Statistics, 226, 532 

Study, school and home, 384-338 

Superintendent of schools, as organizer, 59-149; as supervisor, 150- 
181; powers and duties of, 38-44 

Sub-pHmary class, 65, 66, 374, 375 

Supervision, amount, 180, 181, 200; benefit of, 150, 258; by princi- 
pals, 200, '-iOl; by superintendent, 150-181; evolution of, 247- 
264; favorable conditions, 247-264; ideals of, 261-264; in 
cities, 45; in counties and rural districts, 14, 16, 26, 56-58; 
565-271; laws relating tf), 15, 16, 262; principles of, 52; pro- 
fessional, 35, 45, 46, 50, 150, 253, 257 

Support of schools, 17, 57, 283 

.Supervision of pupils, 44 



Index 423 

Tasks, assignment of, 210, 211 

Taxation of schools, 283-289; difficulties of, 17; equalization of, 
3, 19; local, 18 

Teachers, as organizers, 202-220; certification of, 26; examination 
of, 146; method of securing, 145; nomination by superintend- 
ent, 40, 145; training of, 174-177; trial test of, 147; qualifi- 
cations of, 15, 25, 143-147, 279; reports of, 219-232; superin- 
tendent's relation to, 43 

Teachers' meetings, 170-174 

Text-books, free, 148, 149; selection of. 191 

Text-hooks and supplies, 147-149 

Time limits of various branches, 78-84, 369-374 

Training schools, 175-177 

Truant officers, see Attendance officers 

Truant schools, maintenance of, 9 

Union district, plan of supervision, see District supervision 

Vacation schools, 140, 141, 299, 297 

Ventilation of school rooms, 301-311, 325, 326 

Water supply, 315 



